Mead to host open house at new $9.3M community center

MEAD — Residents will get a chance to tour the new $9.3 million community center at 401 Third St. at a ribbon-cutting event set for Sept. 8.

The open house is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. and will feature activities, games and free play.

In all, the 11,000-square-foot center — at the site of a historic bean-processing plant — includes a gym, a separate multipurpose room, storage, offices and a lobby/reception area. Town officials used $6.8 million in impact fees from new development, as well as a $1 million grant from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and $1.5 million from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to build the project, according to Lorelei Nelson, public information officer for Mead.

Officials bought the property in 2021 after the former bean-processing facility and then warehouse building sat vacant for many years, Nelson said. Three or four full-time town employees will work at the center, with about a dozen others there off and on.

Local company Dohn Construction Inc. served as the general contractor on the project. Essenza Architecture was the architect.

Site development also included paving the alley, adding curbs and sidewalks, creating outdoor spaces and building a parking lot for the facility, according to town materials.

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