The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center

Suisun City, Calif.
Construction Cost: $14.2 million
Area / Square Feet: 68,000
Occupancy Date: May 2012

The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Suisun City took a downtrodden piece of property and restored it into a sparkling state-of-the-art worship, community, education and recreation center. The center’s recreation offerings include a double-court gymnasium, a climbing wall, a fitness and weight-training area, cycling and aerobics/dance studios, locker rooms, family changing rooms and a natatorium.

The existing building footprint and its new program spaces were reconfigured along an L-shaped, dual-circulation axis, with the reception area located at the intersection. A major aspect of the transformation involved a new concourse on the east side of the building, connecting the renovated gym on the south to the new worship space/performing arts theater on the north. In this connecting spine, large graphic glass panels highlight the Salvation Army’s history and donor wall while allowing natural light to penetrate the administrative offices beyond.

The alterations and new additions utilize building materials that unite the facility with its three-sided residential neighborhood and a nearby public park. The center’s landscaped surroundings attempt to soften the edges between residential and community uses, and noise-generating areas such the children’s playground, the outdoor natatorium sundeck and the large pool mechanical system are strategically located at the facility’s western park edge — providing both shared park use and reduction of noise impact to the neighborhood.