MCEDP

The Village of Pinehurst’s new $4.9 million Cannon Park Community Center is now open.  “We are just happy to finally be here,” said Mark Wagner, the village’s parks and recreation director, as he and his staff are settling into the new facility.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Wagner. The village broke ground on the 19,693-square-foot center in December 2018.

The facility has a full-size gymnasium with court lines for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, as well as a multi-purpose room, arts/crafts room, programs room, wellness/dance room, offices for the parks and recreation staff, restrooms, storage and a small catering kitchen.

A patio on the side of the building faces the ballfields and playground in Cannon Park and connects to a picnic shelter that Wagner said will be updated.

“We have been able to start holding classes and other programs,” Wagner said. Several classes are taking place during the week such as an art class in the arts and craft room.  “We love our new art room,” one participant said. “This is wonderful.”

Wagner said the public reaction so far has been positive.  “People really love it,” he said. “It is a great facility that is going to allow us to do so much more.”

Wagner said the center primarily is for the use of its parks and recreation programs, but that it can also be rented for outside groups. He added that the village has already gotten a lot of interest from various groups about using the new gym for tournaments.

Wagner said once everything is finished, the village will hold a ribbon cutting and grand opening for the public.

“It is a great asset for our community that a lot of people will use,” said athletic coordinator David White.  “This is a big investment for the community,” added Wagner. “But it’s going to be serving the village for a long time.”

(Original story by David Sinclair, The Pilot.  Photo courtesy of The Pilot)