Manassas Park community center set to open in January

There is no doubt Theresa Polk, deputy director of Manassas Park's Department of Parks and Recreation, is excited about the new community center, which is nearing its final phases of construction.

That enthusiasm was obvious when she led the City Council and members of the public on a tour Tuesday.

Wearing hard hats, the visitors followed Polk through 80,000 feet of developing infrastructure. Skylights, tile and perhaps most importantly, flexible space, will make the new center "the place to be."

Besides ample administrative offices and a staff lounge, which the old building lacks, the new facility will offer amenities such as two hardwood-floor gymnasiums, both of which can be divided in two, allowing four activities to take place at once.

A pool with a gradual, beach-line entry will provide water lovers of every ability an easy, safe way to enjoy aerobics, swimming and aquatic classes. The building also offers a water-friendly room-- volunteers can be trained in the pool, move to the adjacent classroom and drip-dry without having to change in the locker rooms first.

The preschool area will have more flexibility with removable walls and ample space.

One gathering room with tables can house large functions. It has a commercial quality kitchen. Polk said besides being used to provide meals for program attendees, this large kitchen could be a place to hold cooking lessons.

There is a room for parent and staff events. That room leads out to a patio.

There is a room for dance instruction. That room has mirrors as well as a ballet bar that can be adjusted to accommodate various heights.

The recreation area has expanded to allow for more activities, including ping-pong. There will be an open vending area with healthy snacks available.

Polk also showed the tourists what will be an exercise room with circuit and cardiovascular ma-chines.

But Polk didn't seem as excited about that as she did about the bathrooms.

"We'll have bathrooms all over the place," she said, noting the deficiency in the old building. The new facility not only has bathrooms in each section, it has a family changing room and shower rooms.

Outside, Parks and Recreation plans to construct a "miracle field" with an all-weather surface accessible to the disabled. Staff also plans to plant a butterfly garden by the patio.

The Community Center is expected to open to the public in January.

In the meantime, Polk and the director of Parks and Recreation, Catherine Morretta, have carried on with their daily operational duties plus oversight of the construction. They continue to plan schedules and programs as well, since these will change when the move is complete.

The old building, which will be demolished, was constructed in 1989 and is a "tin build-ing," Polk said.

She recalled one day how she literally watched a wall crack from the inside and was reassured it was just the sheetrock.

-- Katherine Gotthardt