A local architect will design a new recreation facility at the Bill Reynolds Sports Park, the Bainbridge-Decatur County Recreation Authority voted Thursday.

Darren Blankenship with ArcWorks, LLC sent a proposal to the authority detailing a preliminary design for the building, cost estimates and a list of requirements the facility needed to include.

Nothing in the proposal is final, and the unanimous vote from the authority was simply to move forward with using ArcWorks as the architect for the project.

“He is located downtown and he will be a local neighbor to us all,” Recreation Authority Chairman Jeff Findley said. “He did the work for city hall during their renovation, so that’s the reason we gravitated toward him. He included lots of things, and all we are voting for tonight is for us to engage with him to go forward.”

The basic program requirements for the facility include:

Two gymnasiums (multi-game court and high school regulation court)

Locker rooms

Gymnastics area

Aerobics Room

Multipurpose rooms

Secretary/reception area

Director’s office

Offices and meeting rooms

Centralized kitchen

Concession area

Senior area

Teen/Game room area

Support spaces throughout the facility, as required

Decatur County Sports Hall of Fame

The list is preliminary, and ArcWorks will work with the Recreation Authority to develop a more detailed space program during the conceptual schematics phase of the building’s design.

Estimated cost for the construction of the facility is almost $4.9 million, with estimated design fees, including architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design being 7.5 percent of the construction cost. These fees are all preliminary.