Johnstown Recreation Center
Johnstown, Colo.
BEST PROJECT

Owner: Town of Johnstown
Lead Design Firm: Perkins+Will
General Contractor: Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Engineer: Martin/Martin Inc.
Owner’s Representative: LaCouture Inc. 
Subcontractors: Best Steel; Big Horn Masonry; Big Horn Roofing; Central Mechanical; Front Range Fire Protection; Front Range Steel; Gregory Electric; Kuck Mechanical Contractor; Phase 2 Co.; Restoration Specialists; Thoutt Bros. Concrete
 

A 70,000-sq-ft recreation facility serves the growing community of Johnstown. The need for a new center was identified nine years earlier as part of the town’s  20-year action plan, allowing it to fully fund the project without additional tax dollars. The town partnered with the YMCA as the managing entity, creating a multi-owner partnership for the project team. 

Concerns about the original site caused the project to be moved to a downtown location, which presented its own challenges, with narrow roads and limited access. The team worked with the town to establish planned routes and manage the scheduling of heavy loads to avoid congestion from large trucks and equipment through the busy downtown area. Another goal of the project was to support the local economy, and more than 75% of the team’s subcontractor base was located within 20 miles of the site.  

The project includes an indoor-outdoor aquatics center, community rooms, a gym and office areas for the staff as well as program space for preschool. The owner’s representative for the town worked with the design and construction team to maximize the allocated funds. Local businesses helped sponsor alternate components, and the combined efforts allowed for the inclusion of such wish list items as a maintenance storage area, a playground pad, field lighting and upgraded interior finishes for the center. 

Groundwater mitigation was required to install the 13-ft-deep pool. Crews added rammed aggregate piers and layered drainage rock to help alleviate future groundwater issues. In the gym, measures to prevent cracks in the concrete led the team to survey before placement to ensure a flat substrate and to use in-house 3D scanning to verify flatness after the pour.

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