Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan

The City is updating the Civic Athletic Complex Master Plan - the plan that summarizes the long-term vision and guides further development for our community's central recreational complex.

During this update, we are examining areas that can be developed for current and evolving uses. The updated Master Plan will guide our strategic planning to equitably meet future community needs.

In addition to maintaining and upgrading facilities, we are factoring two new ideas into this Master Plan update.

• Carl Cozier relocation: The possibility of relocating Carl Cozier Elementary School adds exciting potential to our planning process. We are evaluating how we might leverage City and school district investments in the Civic Athletic Complex to build a new school, create more opportunities for recreation, and advance climate resiliency. Read more about our partnership with Bellingham Public Schools to explore the possibilities to relocate Carl Cozier.

• Community recreation center: Many community members have said they want more space for indoor recreation, and many people have also expressed a desire for a community center. Our plans will factor in expanded facilities for more aquatic and other indoor recreation, and more community gathering spaces. The design of a community recreation center building is outside the scope of the Master Plan update, but we will be reserving space for a future development.

In this scenario, the new elementary school would be located at the northeast end of Civic Athletic Complex, at the corner of Fraser Street and Puget Street, along with upgraded athletic fields. Eventually, the City will renovate and expand indoor community recreation facilities at the corner of Lincoln Street and Lakeway Drive, creating a new hub for indoor recreation and community gathering. See our update below for more details about this emerging site plan.

Option 1: Framing the Park Perimeter was the preferred site plan in community surveys.

Next steps

• We will be refining the site plan for the Civic Athletic Complex. The final site plan will incorporate some ideas from the other options we presented for feedback, as well as more specific details.

• We will be completing the full Master Plan in early 2025 and sharing it for feedback at a public meeting in the new year.

• The City and Bellingham Public Schools will continue our land use and construction planning, including doing more study of the wetlands and other necessary due diligence. We will come to a formal agreement for the sale of the property. After that, the school district will complete their design process for the new school.

• We will be seeking more community input on needs, ideas and preferences for a new Community Recreation Center. We are also creating a business plan, which includes studying ways to fund the construction and ongoing program costs to build, staff, and maintain a new facility.