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Proposed Roseau Wellness Center
Quality of place is the mark of a successful and thriving community, and economic opportunity and amenities are at its cornerstone. Roseau is blessed with a wide array of excellent career opportunities as well as many natural resources and amenities. Yet, the reality is that the social, leisure, recreational and wellness needs of today's families are changing and as a community we must continue to improve and diversify our recreational and wellness offerings to attract and retain the new families which represent our future. For many years the community has recognized the need to develop a central indoor recreation and wellness center for area residents. Historically the Roseau Community School was able fulfill this function; however, the need to prioritize student security and safety makes the use of the Roseau School as an accessible public recreational facility unworkable.
To address this pressing community need a stakeholder committee comprised of representatives from the City of Roseau, Roseau Park Board, LifeCare Medical Center, School District 682, Polaris Industries, and Karl Manufacturing have been working since the fall of 2022 to investigate the feasibility of a new Wellness Center Facility for the Roseau Community. The stakeholder committee was able to obtain $40,000 from the Blandin Foundation to conduct a planning study for a new indoor recreation and wellness center. The stakeholder group engaged the services of JLG Architectural to facilitate a facility planning study and interview key community stakeholders as well as conducting a community survey. The end result of the planning effort was a conceptual planning document that provides a preliminary project scope, floor plans, and construction estimate. A copy of the final study is available below.
JLG Architects worked with the Roseau community to assess project priorities, facility programming, siting alternatives, and budget considerations. Upon completion of the facility study, it was recommended that the City of Roseau and its constituents have a strong need for a facility with indoor activity programming and opportunities to support the health and wellness of all ages and demographics throughout the entire year. To the right are preliminary concept drawings for a 27,000 SF indoor recreational and wellness center to be constructed adjacent to the existing Roseau Community School pool. Major components of the facility include: multi-purpose gym, aquatics center, indoor playground, indoor walking/running track, rock climbing wall, cardio equipment spaces, weight training space, group fitness room, multi-purpose classroom, activities room, golf simulator, party room and various support spaces. These spaces were programmed based on priorities obtained from the community.
The location of the proposed Roseau Wellness Center is on the Roseau Community School site adjacent to the Roseau Community School. The proposed Wellness Center would utilize the existing Roseau School Pool as part of the facility. However, the entire Wellness Center would be independent of the Roseau School and would be operated by a separate entity which is still to be determined. It has been proposed that an independent non-profit board be established to operate the Roseau Wellness Center with the building being under the ownership of the City of Roseau. The Roseau Community School and the Roseau Wellness Center would share operations and costs related to the pool, but would otherwise be completely independent operations. No access from the Wellness Center would lead directly to the school proper.
The steering committee has also investigated various models for facility operation including city run, YMCA branch, and independent non-profit. The current business plan for operations is based on a plan provided by the financial officer for the Duluth YMCA. The business model would involve user memberships and fees combined with charitable contributions to support operations. The projected goal for individual memberships would be 528. At this level the facility would be self-sustaining with the need for occasional fundraising efforts for facility upgrades.
The estimated cost of the facility (2023) is between $12-13 million. The steering committee is exploring various funding options to meet this goal. The city has applied for various federal and state grants. The goal is to obtain roughly 1/2 of the total facility costs through State and Federal resources. The remainder would be raised locally through a private capital campaign and/or local government contribution. One option the City of Roseau has to raise project revenue is through a local sales tax. The steering committee has investigated the potential of a 1/2 cent retail sales tax and determined that it could raise nearly $4 million over 30 years. A local referendum would be required to approve a local sales tax. The steering committee is also seeking individual and business donations to the project. To date, the committee has secured $1.255 million in individual and business pledges to the project, with a lead pledge from LifeCare Medical Center of $1 million.
For more information on the Roseau Wellness Center project, donations, or ways you can become involved in the project please contact Todd Peterson, Roseau Community Development Coordinator at 218-463-5003 or todd.peterson@city.roseau.mn.us.