City’s Eunice Activity Center, Which Needs More Than $2 Million in Repairs and Improvements, Will Not Reopen
With a projected $2 million price tag to make all necessary repairs and improvements, the City of Arlington has decided not to reopen the Eunice Activity Center and will instead continue offering senior programs and events at other recreational facilities and the future Active Adult Center.
The Eunice Activity Center, which opened in 1972 at Meadowbrook Park near Abram and Collins streets, had been closed during the start of the pandemic in 2020 and then suffered severe damage during a winter storm in February 2021. To reopen the popular center, the City Council approved nearly $1 million for construction work, including a new roof and HVAC system and interior repairs, last March. Work was halted this past winter, however, after significant, additional structural damage was discovered.
The work needed to repair those deficiencies, which would have also resulted in the need to make improvements to comply with the Energy Code and the City’s flood damage prevention ordinance, would have cost the City an additional $1.2 million. Because the total costs of needed repairs would be more than half of the value of the Eunice Activity Center, the City Council decided earlier this month it would not make good fiscal sense to move forward with reopening this facility.
The Eunice Activity Center once served approximately 1,500 residents a year with health and fitness, social and educational programs geared toward active adults. Since the center has been closed, the Dottie Lynn Recreation Center has become the hub for active adult programs, with some events and activities being offered at other recreation centers or at the Bob Duncan Center during the summer. As they did at Eunice, Arlington residents are able to book rides on the City’s Handitran and Via Rideshare public transportation service for trips to and from the recreational centers.
Starting in winter 2024, the new Active Adult Center will offer a variety of programs and amenities for adults ages 50 and older. Construction is underway on the voter-approved center off Green Oaks Boulevard, just east of the Fire Training Center and on the site of the Pierce Burch Water Treatment Plant. Amenities are expected to include a full-court gymnasium that can host sports such as basketball, volleyball and pickleball, an indoor pool for water exercise and leisure, a fitness area, walking track, multi-purpose rooms for educational programs, events or passive activities, special events space, an outdoor patio, outdoor pickleball courts and a community garden.
Click here to learn more about the Active Adult Center.
The future of the Eunice Activity Center site will be determined as part of the City’s master plan for Meadowbrook Park, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. Arlington residents are invited to provide input on planned amenities at an upcoming public meeting at 6 p.m. May 11 at the Meadowbrook Activity Center, 1400 Dugan St., or through an online survey.
Click here to learn about the Meadowbrook Park Master Plan and how to provide input in-person, online or by phone, email or letter.
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