'Awesome!': Reaction To New Central Rec Center In Aurora
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- It's 62,000 square feet of fun 40 years in the making that a 6-year-old explains in one word. "Awesome!" Braxton Neveills exclaimed.
The same word Becky Annunziato uses to describe how Aurora paid for the new Central Recreation Center at 18150 East Vassar Place.
"The fact marijuana gave it to us," the Aurora mom said, "that's awesome."
That's right -- the $34 million state-of-the art family facility is brought to you by weed.
"[Funded] entirely by the sales tax revenue collected from retail marijuana," Tom Barrett, Director of Parks, Recreation & Open Space for the City of Aurora, explained. "We're taking $2 million a year and bonding our self, and came up with the money necessary to build this facility."
Barrett told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann the city chose to use the pot profits to give the community something it's long gone without.
"This is the first time in 40 years that the City of Aurora has built a brand new recreation center from the ground up," Barrett said. "Aurora was woefully deficient in rec centers and indoor recreation space. This is an opportunity for us to make a dent in that need."
It's a need Braxton and his mom have noticed for years. They would have to leave their home in Aurora in order to find a family-friendly rec center.
"In the past we've had to go to Centennial or even Arvada to enjoy a rec center," Sarah Neveills said.
Now they only need to walk across the street, she added.
"It's excellent," Sarah said. "This is definitely family and kid-centric."
Which is precisely what the city wanted to achieve. In order to give the community what they wanted, the city turned to residents to gather input on how to design the rec center.
"We came to all the planning meetings," Becky said. "We've been trying to be involved since the beginning. We've got a lot of little guys, so we were hoping for a pool for sure and a place we could come for activities."
Barrett said a big pool was at the top of the community's wish list.
"They wanted an aquatic-themed facility which is exactly what they have," he said.
Complete with a wave pool, lazy river and water slide, families can now enjoy all kinds of awesome.
"It's exactly what we were hoping for," Becky said.
The Central Rec Center also includes an elevated indoor track, top-of-the-line fitness equipment, group exercise studios, party rooms, teaching kitchens, and more.
LINK: Central Rec Center