MADISON – Planning for complete renovation at the building formerly known as Three Springs youth detention center is proceeding to eventually house a community center for Madison.

City employees Kory Alfred, who works as Director of Parks and Recreation Department, and Steve Smith, who is City Administrator, are assisting the architects in the design and function of the building.

“We are currently nearing 100 percent drawings on the final design. We hope to get the project out for bid in a couple of months to get a true cost to determine a path forward,” Smith said. “Once construction starts, we estimate 12 to 14 months until completion.”

In recent weeks, the City of Madison ended its contract with Turner Construction for work at the Three Springs site. “The City (of Madison) and Turner have a strong relationship and have worked on other successful projects together, such as the Madison Library and Toyota Field. We will continue to reach out to Turner on other projects the city may pursue,” Smith said

“There will be no replacement company” for Turner, Smith said.

The Three Springs facility will look and function completely different when the work is done. “The inside of the building will be gutted and redone,” Smith said. “We are planning on having a cafeteria with a catering kitchen to better provide the same meal opportunities that our current Madison Senior Center provides.”

The city soon will release renderings of the repurposed building.

Many more details will be available “when we get a little closer to awarding the bid,” Smith said. “Being this early, we are not sure what parts of the new design will stay and which parts will either be altered or deleted.”

“Kory Alfred has done a tremendous job making sure the new community center will meet the needs of as many individuals and groups as possible. We are both really excited about the potential this building will provide our citizens,” Smith said.

“Our Madison Community Center project (the building formally known as Three Springs) continues to move along as the designers are set to submit the 90 percent drawings for the building,” Mayor Paul Finley said in his newsletter.

In years past, Sequel Youth & Family Services used the Three Springs facility. Sequel is a private for-profit operator of behavioral healthcare facilities for children and youth in the United States. Headquartered in Huntsville, the company owns a nationwide network of more than 40 facilities in more than 15 states, including residential treatment centers, group homes, special schools and community-based programs. (Wikipedia.org)