West Lafayette officials believe the city has the money to build an indoor recreation center in Cumberland Park, but say they won’t sign off on the idea until it’s garnered enough community support. A few dozen residents gave input at two Tuesday open houses. The goal was two-fold: ask whether residents want a rec center and gauge what amenities it’d need so people would buy memberships, says redevelopment commission chair Larry Oates. “You’ve heard of Build-A-Bear, at the malls and stuff – this is our Build-A-Rec Center program,” Oates says. City officials, along with the architecture firm Perkins+Will, had attendees fill out a list of what they wanted in the center. Sample items included a few pools, a game room and multi-use basketball courts – each with their own hypothetical price tag to be deducted from a $25 million budget. Longtime resident Cathy Nakajima says – like most who attended the meetings -- she’s in favor of items that have a broad, all-ages appeal. “I would sure love
↧