Mount Vernon RECenter renovation meeting this Sunday

The Fairfax County Park Authority is holding a public meeting Sunday evening to give an update on the progress and timeline of the Mount Vernon RECenter renovation and expansion project.

The meeting, which is the first update since Park Authority officials gave residents a look at the concept design images last May, will be held at the RECenter from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Park Authority staff will give a presentation and then take questions afterward.

Construction on Phase I of the project is slated to begin in May 2020, with an estimated completion date of September 2022, according to the project’s website. Those dates are slightly later than the February 2020 construction kickoff and July 2022 completion dates given at last May’s meeting.

Phase I of the $22 million project will include will include a complete overhaul of the center’s existing pool, an expanded two-floor fitness center, fixes to the ice rink and a completely reworked entrance area. It also includes money for the design of a new ice rink planned for Phase II.

Phase I of the project is fully funded by a Park Authority bond that was approved by voters in 2016.

The new ice rink coming in Phase II will be built to NHL standards, with new, larger locker rooms. It’s estimated to cost $11.5 million.

Phase III of the project will include a new leisure pool. That phase is estimated to cost $6.1 million

The existing ice rink was built in 1979, while the aquatic center was constructed in 1983.