In 2022, Mt. Lebanon adopted a master plan for parks and recreation. One of the recommendations was to find ways to improve the almost 50-year-old recreation center, located in Mt. Lebanon Park. Because of the date of construction, the building as it stands has accessibility issues; also there is not enough space for meeting rooms, locker rooms and changing facilities.

Ideas for a new recreation facility centered on three possible locations: Renovating the existing facility; finding an uptown location, most likely the South Parking Garage; or building a new structure in McNeilly Park. The municipality engaged Pashek+MTR, the planning and design firm that completed Mt. Lebanon’s Comprehensive Plan last year, to come up with some options. Cost estimates for constructing a new building range from $22.4 million to as high as $35.2 million.

Less expensive renovation plans to the current building came in significantly cheaper—adding an elevator and expanding locker and meeting rooms would come at a projected cost of $6.4 million to $7.1 million.

A more substantial renovation project would include the elevator and expanded locker rooms, and would also relocate staff offices to the first floor, which would allow for higher ceilings, giving more flexibility for larger gatherings, expanding meeting room space by 550 square feet and adding a multiuse room that would provide an additional 2,140 square feet of space for large gatherings and events, comes at a projected cost of $9.5 million to $10.4 million. At the February 27 discussion session, Commissioners were leaning toward this option, but the final decision on the project is not expected until later this year.