The Ridgefield City Council unanimously approved a motion Thursday, Jan. 8, to authorize the city manager to enter into a letter of intent with Blue Rock Ventures for the construction of the Ridgefield Community and Recreation Center.
The vote marks another milestone in a project nearly a decade in the making. The letter of intent outlines the city’s preliminary agreement with Blue Rock Ventures to jointly develop a publicly owned community center and an adjoining privately owned recreation center on North 50th Place, north of Pioneer Street. Under the agreement, the city and Blue Rock Ventures will work cooperatively to finalize development, lease and joint operating agreements governing the project. Final development, lease and joint operating agreements will return to the council for review in the coming months.
City staff emphasized that the approval keeps the project on schedule and within the city’s adopted budget. Ridgefield has committed $15 million toward the community center portion, with total construction costs for the combined project currently estimated at roughly $35 million to $37.5 million.
“This has been a long time coming,” Finance Director Kirk Johnson said. “We’re getting to a phase where we’re getting much closer to breaking ground on the Ridgefield Community and Recreation Center.”
Johnson said the letter of intent is nonbinding and is intended to formally establish Blue Rock Ventures as the city’s public-private partner while staff finalize the detailed agreements needed to move into construction.
“It just sets up the intent that we want to choose and work with Blue Rock Ventures as our private partner in this public-private venture that we’re doing,” Johnson said. “It identifies all the next steps for what we’re doing and allows us as staff to work with Blue Rock Ventures to prepare those documents so that we can come back to council for final review and hopefully adoption.”
Councilors voiced support for the partnership and for continuing the process after years of study, design and revisions. A 2016 market study found Ridgefield residents had one of the highest levels of interest nationally in a YMCA-style facility. While the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette withdrew as an operating partner last summer, the city reaffirmed its commitment to move forward with the project.
“I support us issuing that letter of intent, and I just look forward to going through the process of how that partnership is going to develop,” Councilor Rian Davis said. “Whenever you have a public-private partnership, almost the biggest emphasis is on the word partnership.”
Councilor Katie Favella also expressed enthusiasm for the project’s progress and its importance to the community.
“I’m really excited about this project, and I’m excited to have this project available in our community,” Favella said. “I hope you recognize how excited and important this is to us, and let’s pull this off as smoothly as possible.”
The planned recreation center includes three youth-sized basketball courts, fitness rooms, a child watch area, locker rooms and an indoor track overlooking the courts. The natatorium features a six-lane cold-water lap pool and a zero-entry warm-water pool, both fully accessible. The community center portion will feature a lounge, teen gaming center, community rental spaces and a kitchen.
Permitting is underway, with construction still targeted to begin in summer 2026 and last approximately 16 months. Project partners continue to seek sponsors, donors and a new operator for the recreation facility to help offset costs.
“This is exciting just because this is a small step, but I know this has been a long time coming,” Ridgefield Mayor Matt Cole said. “This is finally becoming real. The community should know that this is a real product. This will take place this year. This is not going to be an imagination.”
The motion passed without opposition.
