19 Jul Pittsburg Approves $5.75 Million for Recreation Facility

Pittsburg City Council on Monday approved $5.75 million toward the construction of a new recreation facility first proposed in 2020. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Contra Costa County’s next biggest indoor recreation facility will move forward in Pittsburg after receiving more funding and adjustments.

At its Monday meeting, the Pittsburg City Council voted to adopt a resolution that allocates up to $5.75 million to fund the construction of the facility. Council passed the resolution unanimously, with Mayor Shanelle Scales-Preston and council member Dionne Adams absent.

The recreation facility was first proposed by Discovery Builders in 2020 at $3 million, but rising costs have meant an increase in funding from the city. The project is currently estimated to cost $8.5 million, over half of which the city will fund. Funding could come from American Relief Plan Act funds, as suggested by city staff.

Jordan Davis, director of community and economic development for the city of Pittsburg, said the 45,000 square-foot facility is something that everyone in the community is excited about. The facility is expected to attract tourism, especially sports tourism. Davis told the council that bringing in people from outside of Pittsburg to attend events at the facility will boost economic development.

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Davis, in a report prepared for the council, said that Pittsburg “lacks some of the infrastructure helpful in providing recreational services” to its residents. A current center, the Pittsburg Youth Development Center, can’t meet the needs of the city due to the city’s population, and a previous center was closed in the 1990s.

Pittsburg’s population was over 75,000 in 2022. Over 20% of residents are under the age of 18.

Once approved, construction for the facility could begin in early September.

Council member Jelani Killings, who has supported the project since its proposal, said he continues to support the vision the city and developer share for Pittsburg by collaborating on this project, even with budget constraints. “This will be the state-of-the-art facility that we imagine it to be,” Killings said. “Hopefully, there is not going to be too many scalebacks.”

Not everyone in the community has been supportive of the facility, however. When it was first brought to the council, the recreation center’s construction was contingent upon a 1,500-housing development project by Discovery Builders.

The development, which is known as the Faria/Southwest Hills Annexation Project and is located in the Pittsburg Hills, had its project turned down by Pittsburg’s Planning Commission in February. The commission cited needing more time to review environmental documents and the lack of details for voting against.

But the commission’s vote is only a recommendation to the City Council. After an appeal by Louis Parsons, president of Discovery Builders, the Pittsburg City Council voted to go forward with the development.

Davis said that once construction has begun, the project is expected to be completed in 12 months. It will be built at John Henry Johnson Park.

Killings said he knows that residents who use the park to walk or play soccer may be worried about the location of the facility, but he hopes that communication with those groups is being prioritized to make sure the community is on the same page.

The next Pittsburg City Council meeting is Aug. 7.