Construction of the expanded Carl Brewer Recreation Center at McAdams Park has hit a snag that will delay groundbreaking into the spring of 2024, Councilman Brandon Johnson told community members attending his December Saturday morning breakfast.
The problem is that the McAdams Park at 1329 E. 16th Street, is in a designated flood plain and the Federal Emergency Management Administration has to approve the maps that show water flow improvements at the Simpson Street Bridge bring the park out of the flood zone.
“We have a 120-day wait to give people time to object before the new designation can be final,” Johnson said. “That means we won’t break ground until spring of 2024 and it could be as late as summer of 2025 when it opens. I had hoped we’d be cutting the ribbon in late summer of 2024, but it looks like that won’t happen.”
The $13.7 million upgrade of the center will triple the size of the facility.
It will add a new gymnasium, an indoor walking trail, a full basketball court, smaller courts, pickleball courts, a spectator viewing area, new locker rooms, new showers, a lounge space, a dining room with a concession kitchen, a mirrored multi-purpose room, new parking spaces and a new grand entrance.
Meanwhile, a main artist for the project has already been chosen and there are three finalists in the contest to provide more original art in the interior of the building.
The McAdams Recreation Center was renamed the Brewer Center in honor of Carl Brewer, who served as Wichita’s first popularly elected African American Mayor, from 2007 to 2015. He died in June 2020.
