After years of planning, listening and community input, the Chanhassen Community Center is officially under construction. 

Residents, city officials, task force members and project partners gathered Monday afternoon at the site of the future community center for the project's public groundbreaking ceremony, marking the transition from design to construction on this important civic project. 

The facility will include a multiuse field house with courts and turf, two ice rinks, an indoor walking track, an indoor playground, fitness and activity spaces, a dance studio, and flexible community gathering rooms anchored by a 4,800-square-foot community room and catering kitchen. Substantial completion is expected in late summer 2028, with the doors anticipated to open in September 2028. 

During his remarks, Parks and Recreation Director Jerry Ruegemer spoke of the significant work that went into the project, beginning with the Park Referendum Task Force that first met in April 2022. 

"Standing here today, we are doing more than breaking ground on a new building," said Ruegemer. "We are breaking ground on an idea, an idea that has been discussed, imagined, studied, planned and shaped by our community over many years, and today, that vision begins to become a reality." 

Trace Jacques, senior design partner at BKV Group and the project's overall design lead, described a building shaped around the idea of connection and designed as a natural extension of the City Hall and Civic Campus. 

"The simple, expressive and multi-dimensional design embodies the same spirit, with a broad range of activities and flexible spaces in one highly inviting and contemporary place, a place that will generate memories and pride for the community in the years to come," said Jacques, calling the facility a "once-in-a-generation" project. 

Brad Barickman of RJM Construction, the project's construction manager, spoke about the work of the project team and what the new facility will mean to him personally as a Chanhassen resident.

"This project will be even more special, as I am a Chanhassen resident, raising my family in this great community," said Barickman. "My family will be fortunate to utilize this great facility for many years to come."

City Manager Laurie Hokkanen recognized the elected officials, staff, commissions, task force members, legislators, design and construction partners and youth sports associations who contributed to the project and closed by thanking residents. 

"This project exists because our community told us what it wanted and, ultimately, because our residents chose to invest in it," said Hokkanen. "The support of Chanhassen voters in the 2024 referendum is what made today possible." 

Mayor Elise Ryan told the crowd that two words defined the decade of work behind the project: "What if?" Those words, she said, were asked by staff developing the park system plan, by the task force weighing funding options, by council members refining the design, and by partners who returned to the drawing board again and again. 

"Because after all of those 'what ifs,' we are now able to say 'what is,'" said Ryan. "And our what is ... is our new Chanhassen Community Center." 

Ryan said the Chanhassen Community Center is “not simply a recreation facility, but a gathering place.” 
 
“It is a place where neighbors meet, families connect, kids grow and our community comes together,” said Ryan. 

Site work will ramp up this fall. Construction updates, renderings and project information will continue to be posted on the city website in the months ahead. 

You can watch a highlight video of the event by clicking here and you can view a photo gallery by clicking here.