Hampden is ready to start raising money for its new community center.
Now it just needs $20 million.
The Hampden Town Council unanimously approved launching the fundraising campaign for its long-awaited community center during a Nov. 4 meeting.
“It’s exciting to know we’re at a point where we can start the fundraising and hopefully start seeing shovels hit the gravel here in a couple years,” Amy Ryder, director of planning and economic development, said.
The fundraising campaign is about 20 years in the making, as residents have long talked about their desire for a new community center. The building will go on the site of the Lura Hoit Memorial Pool, with the pool remaining, Ryder said. It will have two basketball courts with pickleball lines, a gym with weight room, an elevated walking track, a kids room, two banquet rooms, and a conference room and offices, according to the blueprints shared with town council.
It will consolidate Hampden’s community organizations, including the Kiwanis Club, the garden club, Boy Scouts and pottery classes, into one building.
Years of committees and community input determined what the new building will include, she said. Land was cleared this spring in the area around the pool building to house all the town’s softball, baseball and soccer fields.
The recreation center is currently at Skehan Recreation Center, which is in the former Hampden Academy, which houses the gym and recreation department offices. The space is rented for $1 a year, with the town maintaining the building.
The fundraising will start with a soft launch and will include community events after the first of the year. A Facebook page to promote the campaign and provide links for donations will go live around that time, she said.
Someone will be hired mid-summer during the town’s next budget year to run the capital campaign, Ryder said. That person will be in charge of going to local businesses and community members to secure funding.
The plan is to fund the center entirely through fundraising within the next three to five years, so there is no impact on people’s taxes, she said.
Residents should keep an eye out for the town’s newsletters for more information in the coming months. An information booth will be at the Skehan Recreation Center.
Anyone looking to donate ahead of the soft launch should reach out to Ryder either at the town office or via email at [email protected].
