Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC November 14
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
November 14, 2018 Alan Monelli Superintendent Building Construction & Maintenance - DPW Town of Greenwich Dear Alan: The purpose of this letter is to serve as an executive summary of the more detailed Community Needs Summary Report and Facility Program & Opinion of Cost related to the redevelopment of the Eastern Greenwich Community Center (EGCC). Based on the current facility condition and goals for future development, the Town has determined that a new, modern replacement building will provide efficiencies in all aspects of operations that a renovated building cannot provide. Therefore, this project is focused on the development of new facility assets instead of renovating existing facility assets. Through this work, SFA has made recommendations for the facility spaces to be included in the redevelopment of the EGCC based on experience in planning, developing, and managing sports, recreation, and community facilities, market research, interviews with staff and key stakeholders, and a community survey. In the Community Needs Summary Report, SFA developed two facility program and opinion of cost options. The first option is related to the replacement of existing indoor spaces, while preserving the existing outdoor amenities at the EGCC. The second option is related to additional facility spaces if the Town of Greenwich desires to expand the use and purpose of the existing site and to serve additional community needs. The first option for the redevelopment of the EGCC consists of a 37,510 square foot building that is estimated to cost $15.0 million and replaces the indoor court, event space, meeting rooms, and gathering spaces currently offered at the EGCC. SFA recommends the prioritization of this option for the following reasons: • The community survey stated the desire for and the prioritization of existing EGCC amenities as well as the programs that are serviced or offered through those amenities. • The development of indoor amenities that would replace existing EGCC spaces would not displace the existing outdoor fields, outdoor tennis courts, and outdoor playground at the EGCC, which were among the most desired facility amenities and programs outlined by community survey respondents. • There is a lack of like facilities in the market that offer affordable event, meeting, and gathering spaces as well as space for recreation, athletics, and training to the community. • SFA’s recommendations found a balance in spaces that would not displace existing outdoor EGCC users, while taking into consideration the desired community needs, by offering a walking track and flexible multi-purpose space that can be utilized for fitness components. The second option for the redevelopment of the EGCC consists of a 57,777 square foot building that is estimated to cost $28.4 million and features a fitness center, group exercise rooms, competition aquatics, recreational aquatics, and support spaces. These amenities would serve the most in demand facility spaces and programs as desired by community survey respondents. Although there Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC was a stated desire for these amenities through the community survey, SFA does not recommend the prioritization of this option for the following reasons: • The development of new indoor assets at the EGCC site beyond the first option would require the displacement of existing users of the outdoor fields, tennis courts, and playground. • The development of these types of assets, especially aquatics, would not only increase the up- front cost of development, but also significantly increase the Town’s budget of ongoing operations due to the associated facility, operating, and staffing expenses. • SFA’s market research found that there are a variety of aquatics and fitness facilities offered within the 10-, 15-, and 30-minute drive times from the EGCC site by both for-profit and non- profit entities. Although the majority of these facilities are not publicly owned assets and therefore have higher use fees, SFA does not recommend pursuing the development of these assets based on the Town’s constraints related to land, capital funds, and operational expenses. Based on the work completed to date, SFA has found that there is demand and justification for the redevelopment of existing EGCC facility amenities and for additional recreation space. SFA welcomes the opportunity to discuss these findings with the Town. On behalf of the entire SFA team, thank you for the opportunity to work with you. Sincerely, Dan Morton Strategic Advisor Sports Facilities Advisory | Sports Facilities Management Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC EASTERN GREENWICH CIVIC CENTER I GREENWICH, CT Community Needs Summary Report NOVEMBER 2018 - ,,.,�-.t-- -=- •• • w ·-. , � I I I • �,� - ,-...�-i.; . � � �. ··' . --.,. - � � . PREPARED FOR: . �]f-- ,:: � . , . TOWN OF ... GREENWICH �>::· GREENWICH, CT EASTERN GREENWICH CIVIC CENTER COMMUNITY NEEDS SUMMARY REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 INTRODUCTION 6 ABOUT SFA 8 SURVEY OVERVIEW & ANALYSIS 9 DEMOGRAPHIC & SOCIO-ECONOMIC OVERVIEW 26 SPORTS IN THE REGION 28 EXISTING SERVICE PROVIDERS 29 FACILITY PROGRAM & OPINION OF COST 35 BUSINESS MODEL OVERVIEW 41 CONCLUSION & NEXT STEPS 42 APPENDIX 44 1 EASTERN GREENWICH CIVIC CENTER COMMUNITY NEEDS SUMMARY REPORT E XECUTIVE S UMMARY In March of 2018, the Town of Greenwich, CT (Project Team) engaged Sports Facilities Advisory, LLC (SFA) to complete a community needs assessment and future use analysis of the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center (EGCC). Based on the current facility condition and goals for future development, the Project Team has determined that a new, modern replacement building will provide efficiencies in all aspects of operations that a renovated building cannot provide. Therefore, this project and this report will focus on the development of new facility assets instead of renovating existing facility assets of the EGCC. The full scope outlined in the agreement consists of the following steps and deliverables: • Project Kick-Off Call • Existing Data Review and Market Analysis • On-Site Business Development Planning Session (BDPS) • Public Survey Development, Distribution, Collection, and Evaluation • Community Needs Summary Report This report provides an overview of the process used for the analysis, results of the community survey, and recommendations for next steps. Findings and Insights Through this work SFA has made recommendations for the facility spaces to be included in the redevelopment of the EGCC based on experience in planning, developing, and managing sports, recreation, and community facilities, market research, interviews with staff and key stakeholders, and a community survey. Based on the findings SFA has recommended the development of a new facility that replaces the existing indoor spaces at the EGCC and preserves the existing outdoor amenities at the EGCC. Additionally, SFA has provided the recommended facility that would serve the biggest perceived community needs if the Town of Greenwich desires to expand the use and purpose of the existing site and to serve additional community needs. Below are SFA’s key findings related to the development of a new EGCC facility: • The existing EGCC spaces are currently utilized for a variety of programs; however, the community responded that one of the biggest reasons for not utilizing the EGCC is the poor condition of the facility. Therefore, SFA believes that utilization would increase with new amenities that replace the existing indoor EGCC spaces. • Unlike many of the spaces and programs desired by the community, such as ice rinks, indoor turf, or fitness, other service providers in the market do not offer civic center amenities that are open to the community. • The community survey stated the desire for and the prioritization of existing EGCC amenities as well as the programs that are serviced or offered through those amenities. • The development of indoor amenities that would replace existing EGCC spaces would not displace the existing outdoor fields, outdoor tennis courts, and outdoor playground at the EGCC, which were among the most desired facility amenities and programs outlined by community survey respondents. • There was the most stated demand for facility amenities and associated programs offered through fitness, wellness, and aquatics facilities. • New fitness, wellness, and aquatics facilities would have revenue and operational implications beyond the impact of the replacement of existing EGCC amenities. o All new facility amenities would increase the operational budget of the Town related to facility, operating, and staffing costs. 2 EASTERN GREENWICH CIVIC CENTER COMMUNITY NEEDS SUMMARY REPORT o SFA expects that fitness amenities would present the Town with the opportunity to generate higher levels of revenue through new facilities that would positively contribute to the potential financial sustainability of the facility. o On the other hand, SFA expects that an aquatics facility would be a loss leader for the facility from an operational perspective. • The development of the new fitness, wellness, and aquatics facility amenities would significantly increase the budget allocated for the development of new EGCC amenities, which is outlined below. o According to the survey, the majority of respondents (85.7%) would be in support of the capital construction project to redevelop the EGCC if the Town pays for the development from its total annual budget. o Additionally, the majority of respondents (77.0%) would be in support of the Town increasing