New Blacksburg Recreation Facility

The Town of Blacksburg has engaged architectural consulting firm Kahler Slater to revisit and update the programming outlined in the 2013 Indoor Needs Assessment and Feasibility Study and the 2024 Downtown, Parks and Recreation Priorities survey. This effort aims to align this feedback with current recreational trends and community needs, which will help in determining the appropriate size and scope of a proposed new recreation facility. This new facility will exist in addition to the current Community Center, located at 725 Patrick Henry Drive. The current Community Center will continue to be utilized as a programming space for a variety of recreational and community programs.

Kahler Slater will evaluate and recommend a preferred site for the new facility, either within the existing Municipal Park or at the former Blacksburg High School site, both located on Patrick Henry Drive. Additionally, they will assess existing amenities at both sites and offer suggestions for replacements or new features to enhance the town's recreational offerings. They will also provide recommendations for modernizing the current Community Center to better serve residents and improve functionality.

A comprehensive project cost estimate will be developed to support future planning and decision-making.

Public Engagement: Community input is a key part of this process.

An open public engagement meeting was held on Monday, April 28 from 5 - 7pm at the Blacksburg Community Center to gather community feedback and information. In addition to this in-person meeting, an online survey was made available to gather ideas from residents to help guide the direction of the project. The survey closed on Tuesday, May 27 at 5pm.

A second public engagement meeting was held on Wednesday, June 25 from 5-7pm at the Blacksburg Community Center. Attendees had the opportunity to hear summary information learned by project staff during the previous round of public engagement and viewed materials that discuss the location and design options being considered for this project.

Online Survey:
An online feedback survey that presents renderings of four potential locations for this new facility is now available for citizen input and feedback. This survey will be open until Monday, September 15 at 5pm and can be found at the bottom of this page.

Questions:
If you have questions about this project, please submit them to the "Questions" box below.