Key takeaways from the First Community Recreation Center in Decatur, Alabama
By Mark Winters
The groundbreaking of Decatur, Alabama’s new Community Recreation Center at Wilson Morgan Park marked more than the beginning of another construction project—it was the start of a new chapter of growth for the city and its residents. Decatur’s first-ever community recreation facility will encompass athletic, wellness, and event spaces under one roof next to a beautiful lakeside setting. While construction is only getting started, there are several valuable insights about what it takes to build smarter, more efficiently, and more sustainably in today’s construction landscape.
Once completed in summer, 2026, the center will be one of the area’s highest-quality recreation facilities. It will feature indoor basketball and volleyball courts, a mezzanine running track, a 10-lane swimming pool, community spaces with outdoor pavilions, food-truck-ready hardscapes, and walking trails overlooking the lake.
The design features an architecturally appealing exterior, with decorative, precast panels, metal panels, and a glass curtain wall meant to be elegant but also functional and durable.
Every new project is a chance to learn, and the following are three key ideas from the beginning of construction:
1. Strategic Bidding Wins Projects And Builds Community
Publicly-bid projects such as this one require more than a competitive roster or a low price. When considering trade partners to join the project, consider the three Cs: Character, Capability, and Capacity.
Look closely at each trade partner’s resume, project history, and available resources to consider which company is the best fit for the project. For instance, a concrete trade partner may seem like an excellent candidate based on prior experience working on parks and recreation projects, but is the company equipped with a team that can handle a building measuring over 100,000 square feet and be able to meet a defined schedule? Does it have the right staff to fit the needs of the entire scope? Sometimes, choosing the right partner means a give-and-take regarding who an agency chooses to work with and why.
In a smaller community like Decatur, it’s important to think beyond the immediate market. The trade-partner pool in the surrounding area is limited, so for this project, companies in Huntsville and Birmingham and even Nashville (Tenn.) were considered to find a team with the right experience and capacity to handle more complex aspects, including elements like a glue-lam wood ceiling structure on the natatorium. It's always rewarding to work with local partners, so finding the right scopes that can be awarded to those businesses is a critical part of the process.
It is also important for the general contractor to foster genuine relationships with trades to ensure project success. Make the calls, facilitate the important conversations, and get to know all partners on a personal level. Finding the right trade partners is about more than cost. It’s about finding the right culture fit, communication style, and consistency in work. This approach is important to maintain high standards of quality and reliability.
2. Careful Coordination Creates Better Design Outcomes
Every project presents unique challenges, and Decatur’s recreation complex is no different. The facility includes a large, indoor natatorium with a 10-lane competition pool, requiring a high level of coordination.
Excavating a pool inside a precast structure requires planning in several steps. Once precast wall panels are in place, they won’t move. Figuring out how to excavate the pool while simultaneously erecting the panels safely and sequencing the trades accordingly takes communication and some creative problem-solving to build a schedule.
The Decatur project required a massive coordination effort. Which trades should be in the space first and last? Which crews can safely work simultaneously, and which ones need the entire work zone cleared? Every step of the process had to be clearly defined long before the first panel wall went up, and the entire team had to stay agile enough to pivot if unexpected challenges or changes in availability emerged.
Adding to this complexity was the pool ceiling. Unlike typical steel structures found in similar long-span space designs, this facility uses wood beams and wood decking, an aesthetic choice that adds a warm and upscale feel to the space, while also aiding in humidity control. This choice adds a new level of material sourcing, installation sequencing, and specialized trade selection that makes scheduling and coordination more intricate.
Complex phasing and multi-use space integrations are not new concepts. They require fresh thinking and consistent communication. Projects of this scale require maintaining a level of respect, trust, and open communication with all parties to be able to make changes at the drop of a hat, while ensuring everyone understands his or her role in the process.
3. Civic Collaboration Requires Heightened Flexibility
The site of the Community Recreation Center is a vibrant public space with active sports leagues, community events, and public use throughout construction. On any given day, pedestrians utilize walking paths or simply enjoy nature by the lake. As builders, it’s important to adapt not just logistics but also one’s mindset and build with the community, not just in the community.
The City of Decatur is committed to keeping Morgan Wilson Park open and operational during construction, which requires tightly coordinated staging areas, fencing, and delivery schedules to minimize disruption. This has included working hand-in-hand with city officials, including a new city planner, to maintain daily communication.
Similar to higher-education or healthcare builds, projects of this nature happen on sites where life keeps going despite construction disruptions. Careful coordination is once again in the spotlight to ensure the noisiest components of construction are completed at appropriate hours, and fencing or other measures are installed to prioritize pedestrian safety.
Parks and recreation projects similarly require honoring noise ordinances, working around community and private events, and finding creative ways to make space for construction crews and the public. With this center, the City of Decatur has served as a true partner for the building teams and provided space for equipment and materials storage that does not hinder public spaces. Not every municipality has deep construction experience, so the general contractor and construction manager should make an extra effort to clearly communicate timelines, phases, and expectations.
When working with municipalities, a good builder is a thorough educator, listener, and teammate. All involved entities are partners throughout the entire process, from planning to design to the ribbon-cutting and beyond.
Looking Ahead
Above all, when working on parks and recreation construction initiatives, the key word is collaboration. These types of projects are opportunities to demonstrate technical excellence, community relations, and a deep understanding of team communication and coordination. It’s vital to remember that great construction starts with great relationships, and parks and recreation projects are perfect examples of how investing in community identity and well-being can result in seamlessly delivered initiatives that set a city up for sustained growth in the future.
Mark Winters has been with Hoar Construction for nearly 30 years and is currently vice president of preconstruction for the Alabama Division. He leads the division’s preconstruction teams, design-phase partnership, and preconstruction efforts, while contributing to Hoar’s overall business growth strategy.