What Silverthorne's Rec Center Expansion Frees Up Inside the Old Building

"People that are trying to get into our programs are aware of that — they're in a kind of silent line, or waitlist." Steven Herrman, Silverthorne's parks, recreation, open space and trails director, said that to Summit Daily in July. It describes the Silverthorne Recreation Center more accurately than any rendering does.

The building on Rainbow Drive was built in 1992 and opened in 1994. Herrman said it has effectively run as only the first phase of the community's long-term plan. The town flagged the need to expand in a 2009 recreation master plan and confirmed it again in a 2020 strategic plan. That means more than three decades separate the first phase from the second, and the second is now in its last weeks.

The September 9 Town Council work session packet carries two memos on the project. One is the monthly construction update. The other is the first public walkthrough of what the new rooms are called and what goes in them. Read together, they show that the payoff for anyone who already holds a pass reaches well beyond the new wing. It also includes the old rooms that finally get some breathing space.

November is still the target, and the contractor is ahead

The construction memo says the project is "in the final buildout and finish phase, with November 2026 completion still on track." August work covered painting, lighting, mechanical and electrical installs, flooring, metal roofing, windows, concrete walkways, curbs and gutters, and the trash enclosure.

Artaic, the owner's representative, wrote in its status table that general contractor JHL "is making great progress on the overall schedule and is tracking ahead of previous expectations." That marks a real change from last November. At that point Summit Daily was reporting on a possible 42-day schedule extension under review. The remaining work is finishes, signage, right-of-way work, punch-list items, and furniture, fixtures and equipment installs planned for October and November. The memo lists occupancy and turnover as still tracking to November 2026.

The town has not yet announced a ribbon-cutting or a public opening day. Until it does, "November" is the most precise date available.

Half the addition is one gym

The town's breakdown of the roughly 24,000-square-foot addition shows where the money went.

The MAC gym takes up nearly half of the total on its own. That fits Herrman's description of a building whose courts and program rooms have been full. Once the second gym opens, the existing gymnasium no longer has to absorb every league, drop-in session and fitness class.

The new rooms, by name

The programming memo introduces the names the front desk will use from November on.

• Base Camp is the dedicated home for school-age licensed care. That covers after-school care, days when school is out, and summer camp.
• The Colorado Room and the Silverthorne Room will take existing leisure and tots programs, new specialty and classroom-style programs, senior programming, community partnerships and room rentals.
• The Link and The Pit are set aside for parkour, silks, family drop-in days and expanded gymnastics. The memo says these programs "have historically experienced significant demand and waitlists."

Base Camp is the name of a room. In July, Summit Daily reported that the licensed program itself "has yet to receive a formal name." The September materials do not give a program name, a registration date or tuition either. The confirmed facts come from the town's rendering caption. The program will serve up to 45 children ages 5 to 12, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., all year. It will be the first town-owned and town-operated licensed childcare program in Silverthorne.

The council also approved a late addition in August, a secure outdoor patio next to the second-floor multipurpose room and Kids Korner. The memo says it expands programming capacity.

The quieter change is in the original building

The fitness line in the programming memo matters most to anyone who has taken a class there this year. "Existing fitness offerings will continue while the additional space from relocating programs out of the Summit Room provides greater flexibility to respond to community demand and expand class offerings as staffing allows."

Put simply, the programs moving into the Colorado Room, the Silverthorne Room and Base Camp leave the Summit Room more open for classes. The memo also expects the larger gym spaces to bring more drop-in time, more leagues and more youth and adult sports. It also expects more gym hours for members and outside organizations. The memo adds that the extra space lets staff "expand programs with demonstrated demand" and "introduce new program types." This is how the silent line gets shorter, through more room in the old building as well as the new one.

The weight room shows the same pattern. Weight Room 1 is being rebuilt with north-facing windows over Rainbow Park, new flooring and 39 fitness stations. It gets new equipment including an Atlantis hack squat and Atlantis power squat, plus 1,440 more square feet of weight room space. The September report says Weight Room 1 renovation is still underway, though the circuit-area flooring is done and the circuit equipment is back at the east end of the track.

What is still in construction mode this fall

The town's expansion page lists these impacts, and none of them has a published return date:

1. The indoor track is closed to running and walking. Part of it is open for cardio, circuit equipment and stretching.
2. Weight Room 1 is closed for renovation, and its equipment is spread between Weight Room 2 and the Aerobics Room.
3. Fitness classes are held in the gymnasium.
4. Kid's Korner is running in a dedicated area of the lobby.
5. The parking behind the building, which gave direct access to the Rainbow Park tot lot and volleyball courts, is closed.

The page's displayed update date is December 31, 2025, so some of these details may have changed since. In July, Summit Daily reported that Kid's Korner was expected to return to its permanent space once renovations wrap up this fall. The town's adult sports page lists indoor pickleball and indoor volleyball as returning in fall 2026.

Who paid for it

The town's 8% lodging tax funds the expansion. Over the past three years, council has approved the conceptual drawings, the design and construction contracts, and a lodging tax increase aimed at this project. So overnight stays in town funded a $29 million building used mostly by year-round residents. As of September, the budget is stable, with the owner's contingency still intact after approved change orders and the patio. The project team says it is managing the remaining funds with an eye toward offsetting the initial cost of a future solar array. Conduits for that system are already on the upcoming work list.

October around Rainbow Park before the doors open

Rainbow Park stays busy while the building is finished. On the first weekend of October, the closed rear lot matters.

• Friday, Oct. 2, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. First Friday Film Fest at the Silverthorne Pavilion, with five local short films, live music, art activities and food.
• Sunday, Oct. 4. Pumpkin Fest at Rainbow Park, with more than 2,500 free pumpkins and family activities. The town's construction notice says park access is through Rainbow Drive, the rec center's front lot or the Rainbow Park lot off Rainbow Drive.
• Down the street. At 246 Rainbow Drive, Philip Lataille's Hidden Table Games has added Yugen Izakaya, with sushi and sake led by chef Hide Tsujimoto, and Peak Sim Sports, with racing simulators. The combined space covers 5,400 square feet.

The pass rates on the town's site carry no visible update date, so check them at the front desk before renewing. The next monthly construction memo to Town Council should show whether November holds and when the track and Weight Room 1 reopen.

A finished recreation center with a second gym and licensed after-school care becomes part of daily life for anyone who owns or rents nearby. If you're thinking about what this means for a Silverthorne home you own, rent out or have in mind, Tanya Delahoz can go through it with you. Request a Personalized Market Consultation.