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Forest County Potawatomi Community Breaks Ground on Historic Community Center

Forest County Potawatami

The Forest County Potawatomi Community (FCPC) held a traditional ground blessing ceremony today to mark the beginning of construction on the Tribe’s new community and recreation center. The center will serve as a community gathering space, offering athletic and educational programs for tribal members and employees.

The $60 million development will be the largest construction project in Forest County history. It is expected to create approximately 150 construction jobs. The building’s athletic facilities will have both an upper and lower level featuring a 20,000 square-foot wood court gymnasium, a 20,000 square-foot field house with synthetic turf, an 8,000 square-foot recreation and training pool, a 110-yard jogging track, a fitness center and weight room, a climbing wall and multiple studio rooms.

In addition to its athletic facilities, the Community Center will provide educational and vocational support spaces including a fab lab, wood shop, teaching kitchen and pediatric therapy suite. It will also serve as a competition space for sports and a performance venue for tribal pow-wows. A child care suite will be on-site as well.

The community center will be located at the intersection of Mish Ko Swen Drive and Fire Keeper’s Lane near Highway 8 in Crandon, Wisconsin. The FCPC has designed the structure to fit the land rather than attempting to mold the land to fit the structure, meaning disturbance of the original site will be minimized. The facility will also be constructed in such a way that reduces its energy needs, including the installation of solar panels, the use of energy-efficient LEDs, highly efficient condensing boilers for heating and a water conserving regenerative filter system for the pool.

Construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2021.

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