North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Windsor Recreation Center and Nocho Park in Grensboro will close for good on Aug. 16, to make way for construction of the new Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex.
Designed by Vines Architecture Evoke Studio, the $70 million project was first announced by the city in 2016. One of the project’s focuses will be increasing access to public health resources. Construction will start in early 2025 with an expected finish date in 2027.
The 65,000-square-foot facility will include an indoor aquatics space that includes a lazy river, water slide, and lap pool, a teaching kitchen, gymnasium, walking track, weight and fitness rooms, plus a fully renovated outdoor park with a multipurpose field, overed basketball pavilion, and dedicated natural areas.
Also, the Nocho Park renovation will include replacing existing restrooms and upgrading a multi-purpose field to regulation size, replacing and relocating playground equipment with an innovative nature play area, adding a full-size covered basketball pavilion, amphitheater, wide pathways, relaxation area including hammock poles, additional parking, sustainable landscaping, and stormwater control devices. The site will feature multiple community gathering areas with Bosque seating, picnic tables, bench seating, a shade structure, and lighting throughout.
Last month, Cone Health announced $5 million toward the construction of the new complex.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan calls the development “a one-of-a-kind multi-functional space,” that will improve the city’s ability to meet the needs of the entire Greensboro community through a centralized hub.”
Greensboro Public Libraries and Greensboro Parks and Recreation are aiming to create a centralized hub for that community meant to meet the needs of that population and offer the delivery of services in a way that hasn’t been done in this area before.
In addition to basketball courts and swimming pools; the complex will include other sports facilities and an aquatic center with lots of water-based amenities. For instance, it will have an indoor aquatic area that includes a “lazy river, water slide and lap swim.”
Also, the park connected to the complex will feature “universal play spaces,” outdoor gym facilities as well as “a place to celebrate the significant history of a community.”
“Nocho” Park was named for Jacob Robert Nocho – an African American teacher, humanitarian and community leader – who moved from Pennsylvania to Greensboro in 1840 and later established an African-American school at St. James’s Presbyterian Church.