Apple Valley Wants Its Rebuilt Community Center to Earn 5x More
TLDR
On July 9, the Apple Valley City Council hired I & S Group to write a business plan for the rebuilt Community Center
The city wants annual revenue to jump from roughly $51,000–$81,000 to about $424,000 by 2027
The rebuild ties the Community Center and Senior Center into one seamless building
The Community Center is closed through December; the Senior Center through June 2027
The whole project is funded by the 2023 park bond referendum voters approved
Apple Valley's Community Center rebuild has been in the works for a while. What's new is the plan to make it pay for itself. At the July 9 council meeting, the city took a concrete step toward that: it hired a firm to write the business plan.
What the Council Actually Approved
The council signed off on an agreement with I & S Group, an engineering and planning firm, to develop an operations business plan for the remodeled center. The contract is $20,750, according to city figures first reported by Sun ThisWeek. It passed as part of the consent agenda, which the council approved unanimously with no items pulled.
A business plan sounds dry, but here's why it matters: the city is spending big to rebuild this place, and it wants a real strategy for how the new space earns money instead of just costing money to run. The plan will study current operations, model future staffing, project finances, and recommend how to run the combined building.
The Number the City Is Chasing: $424,000
Right now the Community Center brings in somewhere between $51,000 and $81,000 a year, based on 2022 to 2024 figures reported by Sun ThisWeek. The city's projection for 2027, once the new features open, is about $424,000. That's roughly five times current revenue.
Where would that come from? New and expanded spaces the city can rent out: an indoor play area, party rooms, a bigger Senior Center gathering space, and a flex space converted from old offices, on top of the existing gyms and rooms. Think birthday parties, open-gym time, and event rentals.
The city is also exploring naming rights for the Community Center, the same move it made with the ice arena, which carries a Wings Credit Union naming agreement. Parks and Recreation Director Eric Carlson has said the arena's finances will stay separate from the Community Center's.
For context on affordability, in early 2026 the city charged $5 for open-gym time, or $40 for a 10-visit punch card, and room rentals ran $40 to $65 an hour. City-run rec tends to undercut private health clubs on price, which is part of the pitch.
When You Can Actually Use It Again
This is the part residents will care about most. Construction is underway, and the closures are long:
Community Center: closed through December 2026
Senior Center: closed through June 2027
Full facility open: projected fall 2027
The city is moving senior and recreation programming to other facilities in the meantime. One of the goals of the rebuild is to tie the Community Center and Senior Center, currently two separate buildings sharing a parking lot at Hayes Park, into a single connected building. The work also includes new mechanical and roofing systems, air conditioning in both gyms, EV charging stations, and a solar-ready roof.
How We Got Here
None of this is happening in a vacuum. It's funded by the park bond referendum Apple Valley voters approved on Nov. 7, 2023, when two questions passed authorizing about $73.25 million in bonds for parks, trails, and recreation facilities, including upgrades to the Community and Senior Centers. The Community Center dates to 1989 and draws more than 125,000 visitors a year; the Senior Center opened in 2009. We broke down the full scope and price tag of the rebuild in our earlier coverage of the project, and it's one piece of the broader wave of park upgrades rolling out this summer.
Apple Valley isn't alone in rethinking its community center, either. Eagan is remodeling its center to boost revenue, and Lakeville is gathering resident input on what a new community center should include.
The Bottom Line
The rebuild was already funded and already happening. The July 9 vote is about what comes after the ribbon cutting: a paid plan for making the new center financially sustainable, with a revenue target roughly five times today's. Expect the business plan to come back to city staff or a Parks Commission meeting, where you'll see the actual operating and financial recommendations.
For now, plan around the closures, and know the Senior Center won't be back until the middle of 2027. Next Apple Valley council meeting is Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m.
Credit: The July 9 business-plan agreement and the city's revenue figures were first reported by Sun ThisWeek.
FAQ
What did the council actually vote on July 9? It approved a $20,750 agreement with I & S Group to write a business plan for operating the rebuilt Community Center. It passed on the consent agenda.
When will the Community Center and Senior Center reopen? The Community Center is closed through December 2026 and the Senior Center through June 2027, with the full combined facility projected to open in fall 2027.
How is the project paid for? Through the park bond referendum Apple Valley voters approved in November 2023.
Why does the city want a business plan? It's aiming to grow the center's annual revenue to about $424,000, up from roughly $51,000 to $81,000, and wants a strategy for staffing, programming, and rentals in the larger building.
Is the city really selling naming rights? It's exploring them, similar to the ice arena's Wings Credit Union naming agreement. Nothing is finalized.
