Construction begins on downtown center

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- The new Downtown Recreation Facility will open in exactly

one year, parks officials said at the center’s groundbreaking ceremony

Thursday.

The 18,000-square-foot building on Anaheim Street at Lions Park will

feature a swimming pool, gymnastics room, gymnasium, offices, locker

rooms, a snack bar and a social hall, according to a floor plan.

The planning commission unanimously voted in February to replace the

existing World War II-era facility with the new gymnasium. The existing

building is not earthquake-safe.

“This facility was very old and needed some work,” said Steve Hayman, a

city administrator working on the project, pointing to the old gymnasium.

“It was no longer cost-effective.”

The entire project is expected to cost the city about $4.2 million,

Recreation Manager Stacia Mancini said.

Councilman Joe Erickson said he couldn’t wait for the new facility to

open. During a lunch reception at the old gymnasium, his 2-year-old

daughter Emma rolled around on the lacquer floor.

“She’ll be one of the kids using it,” he said. “I think she’ll really

love it.”

Pink-cheeked Emma seemed to be happy with the old gym.

“She has fun everywhere,” Erickson confessed.

Rod MacMillan -- who helped hammer nails, dig ditches and stack the

bricks of the old gymnasium -- said he is excited about the new facility.

He has lived across the street from Lions Park for nearly 40 years.

But he said he is sad the old building has to go. He said neighborhood

volunteers raised the money and constructed the gymnasium and pool almost

60 years ago.

“Kids came out here after school and dug dirt,” he said. “It was really a

symbol of what a community can do together.”