Tracy Press: Multi-Generational Recreation Center

In Tracy, California, local reporters toured the LPA-designed recreation center and public park transformation, now under construction.

Excerpted from the article by Bob Brownne for Tracy Press.

El Pescadero Park is undergoing a big transformation, and construction activity is as busy as ever on the new Multi-Generational Recreation Center and a complete facelift for the 14.6-acre park.

Last month Richard Joaquin, Assistant Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Services for the city, and Kevin Eckels, Construction Manager with Gilbane Building Company, showed the progress so far, with the shell of the 61,300-square-foot recreation center taking shape, and grading around the park far enough along to show the outlines of the amenities to come.

As of May the project was estimated to be about 30% complete, and as of this month construction has been underway for about a year. …

On the south end of the park near the entrance by Tracy Interfaith Ministries will be the recreation center on the east side, and on the west side a dog park with areas for large and small dogs. In the middle is a pavilion with a stage that looks out onto a central green that will be suitable for audience seating and large enough for informal soccer games, other athletic activities and big community events.

Running between the dog parks and the central green is a promenade that will connect Grant Line Road to Kavanagh Avenue, running past Tracy Interfaith Ministries and serving as a path for pedestrians and cyclists going between the two thoroughfares.

Just north of the central green is the playground, which was built in 2015 and remains in place, as will as construction happens all around it. The trees around that playground have remained in place as well, and Joaquin noted that the playground won’t be due for replacement for many years..

The northwest end of the park is devoted to a nature walk and fitness loop area. Moving toward the northeast end of the park, a full basketball court will go in between the playground and the new skate park. He added that the skate park will be larger than the one that had previously been at the southwest end of the park.

“It's going to be a major feature for the park, and we think people are going to even come from other cities to come and use the skate park.” …

The recreation center building itself is just a masonry shell now, with materials locally sourced from Baselite Concrete Products of Tracy, but Joaquin and Eckels could visualize the completed interior. The main entrance will be on the west side of the building near the southern entrance to the park with a lobby, bouldering wall and enclosed courtyard.

The main feature inside the building will be the three full-size basketball courts, with the potential for that space to be completely open, or to be partitioned off to create up to 18 smaller courts, or other types of community gathering spaces. A second-floor running track will go around the courts, effectively creating a circuit around the interior of the building, looking down onto the action on the courts. The north side of the building will feature teen spaces, including a lounge, and multi-purpose rooms on the northern side of the building with Parks and Community Services offices upstairs.

The city is also highlighting the environmentally friendly aspects of the El Pescadero Park restoration. Throughout the park are features designed to capture stormwater for the benefit of gardens and other landscaping. The new building is designed to be energy efficient, from solar panels on top to an architectural design that facilitates air flow through the interior to minimize the need for air conditioning.

Joaquin said the purpose now is to create a park where every space will be of recreational value to someone. …

Read the full article in the Tracy Press.