The Sunriver Owners Association broke ground Friday on construction of a new 22-acre recreational and aquatics facility at the amphitheater site.

The project includes indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities, a center for events and meetings, a 1,000-person amphitheater, fitness facility, a community room with outdoor patios, three-run sledding hill and warming hut, playground and picnic areas.

It could cost up to $18.9 million to complete.

The groundbreaking is the culmination of several years of planning, surveys, town hall meetings and one-on-one conversations involving the Sunriver Owners Association.

“I think it is very positive that the owners were willing to step up to the plate in a tough economy and move forward with improvements that will benefit all of Central Oregon,” said Bill Peck, SROA general manager.

He said the site plan review has been completed by Deschutes County and all of the building permits have been obtained for construction work to begin immediately.

“Construction crews will be on the job next week” and the aquatic center, amphitheater and other amenities are scheduled to be completed in time for a grand opening Memorial Day weekend 2012, Peck said.

Ruth Williams, marketing manager for Economic Development for Central Oregon, said the aquatics center and other recreational facilities being added at Sunriver will help boost the area economy by enhancing the area as a tourist destination and a preferred site for business and corporate meetings and conventions.

Known ‘throughout the West Coast’

“Sunriver is known as a destination resort throughout the West Coast, and having the new aquatic center there will give people even more reason to come here,” Lindley said. “Central Oregon has lots of natural beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities, and I think having additional amenities like the aquatics center, amphitheater, restaurants and other kinds of amenities helps us compete with other areas.”

The SROA reported the architectural firm, Group Mackenzie of Portland, headed the project design team with Water Technology, of Beaver Dam, Wis., providing the aquatics design. LCG Pence LLC of Salem, is the general contractor; Tetra Tech Inc. of Sunriver is the owner representative; and Bank of America Merrill Lynch of Portland will provide financing.

Peck said the development was approved by SROA members at the August 2010 annual meeting and represents an investment of up to $18.9 million, or $4,395 for each residential unit in the resort community. The actual cost is still being calculated, but Peck said the owners have been assured it will not exceed that amount.

“Those are the numbers the owners approved and we are going to make sure the project is competed within that budget,” Peck said. “If the project comes in under that amount, the one-time payment owners would make would be less.”

The new aquatic center replaces the 40-year-old South Pool, and adds a multiuse facility to the overall recreational amenities in the community. A record 80 percent of SROA’s members voted in the August election, with 69 percent of the ballots in favor of the proposal, according to a Friday news release from the SROA.

When costs are finalized, property owners will be able to elect one of four payment options, including payment in full, annual payments over five years, annual payments over 15 years and monthly payments over 15 years. Initial payment will not be due until January 2012, according to the release.

Contaminated area

Development of the aquatic center on the amphitheater site also gave SROA the opportunity to implement the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s recommended solution to the problem of asbestos-containing material found on about six acres of the site. The material is believed to be from siding and other building materials used at the Camp Abbot Army Corps of Engineers training camp built around 1942 at what is now Sunriver, according to the SROA

DEQ required the SROA to hire a qualified company to conduct a remediation investigation and then prepare a feasibility study to evaluate alternatives for a permanent solution. One of the DEQ-approved recommended alternatives will be implemented during the aquatic center site development, according to SROA.

Plan saves millions

Peck said by building the aquatic center at the amphitheater site, the SROA stands to save millions in asbestos abatement costs.

By bringing in clean soil, building and paving over the site, the abatement costs are expected to drop from around $3 million to around $350,000, Peck said.

This Sunriver project is one of several projects recently completed or under way in the Sunriver area, including $16 million for a U.S. Highway 97 improvement project (Lava Butte to Sunriver interchange), $6 million expansion of Three Rivers School in Sunriver, $3.7 million awarded to date for remodeling the Village at Sunriver, $4 million recently awarded for phase three development of Mavericks at Sunriver, and $2 million a year in road and pathway improvements by SROA.