Puyallup’s recreation center is rotting from the outside in. Here’s the city’s plan
If you look close enough, you can find water blisters on some parts of the Puyallup Recreation Center’s exterior wall. Poke it and you will see discolored water ooze out.
YMCA staff and patrons originally used the building at 808 Valley Ave. NW until the city purchased it in the early 1990s. The city’s parks and recreation department as well as residents have been occupying the space since then.
City spokesperson Eric Johnson said the city started to see the building’s age sometime around 2011-12.
“The walls were beginning to rot out,” Johnson said. “The roof was leaking.”
The City Council unanimously approved during its March 1 meeting for the recreation center to undergo renovations worth about $2.4 million total. Funding will come from a state Department of Commerce grant as well as the city’s parks capital improvement projects fund.
The city is in the process of finalizing contracts and is hoping to begin renovation work within the next few weeks. The building will be closed beginning March 14 for about six to eight months, Sarah Harris, parks and recreation director, said.
Staff will move to the public works building at 1102 39th Ave. SE. Patrons can still access the courts, fields and playground outside of the recreation center in the meantime, Harris said. The city is hoping to reopen in late September or October.
The renovations will touch on mostly exterior but also some interior features of the recreation center. A little over half of the total price tag will pay for the exterior walls that have been damaged by water due to the building having a flat roof.
“It’s just rotting from the outside in,” Harris said.
Some of the recreation center’s exterior walls have wood in them. It will be replaced with harder material like concrete or cement so the walls will be insulated properly and won’t be easily damaged by water, Harris said.
Some of the interior renovation work includes re-roofing the racquetball courts and gym. Painting the inside of the racquetball courts, gym and other parts of the recreation center is also on the to-do list. Blinds on the windows will also be replaced.
Council member Robin Farris asked during the March 1 meeting if the renovations will take care of black mold in the recreation center. Johnson told The News Tribune there are concerns of mold in certain parts of the building.
“I know that the conditions of the building are such that black mold could be present if these repairs are not made,” Johnson said. “I can’t confirm that there is mold there right now, but it is in such a state where it could present itself.”
The last time the recreation center underwent any renovations was in 2004 when some features inside were painted and a new carpet was installed, Johnson said. That was also the only time any repairs were done since the city bought the building about 30 years ago.
“We were just not able to pull the trigger on this project because of funding,” Johnson said. “Now that we do have the funding we can move forward.”
The city hopes to extend the recreation center’s life for several more decades after renovations are complete, Johnson said.
“The building can’t take anymore,” Harris said. “I think council understood that and has understood that for the last couple of years … it was just a matter of getting funding.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misidentified where the parks and recreation department staff will be temporarily relocated. Staff will be at the public works building.
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
