A ceremony for the new Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center (SHARC) was held last weekend to permit views of the large indoor pool, main banquet and multi-purpose event rooms, exercise facility, an owners’ living room and a café. The indoor portions of SHARC will open to Sunriver owners, guests and the general public on a regular schedule beginning April 30.
Outdoor features including two waterslides, a lazy river, a large recreational pool, tot pool and sand play area, 1,200-person amphitheater, playground, picnic area and year-round tubing hill, will open May 26.
The ceremony marked an end to a decades-long quest by the Sunriver Owners Association (SROA) to develop a facility where the community’s approximately 1,200 residents, numerous social clubs and charitable organizations can meet and host activities.
SHARC is available to Sunriver homeowners and the general public to rent space for family reunions, weddings, banquets and special events. Several large events are already scheduled including the Pacific Crest Tour de Crest and Kids Splash, Pedal & Dash (June 22) and the Sunriver Sunfest Wine Festival (September 1-2).
General recreational swimming by the average estimated 500,000 seasonal visitors to Sunriver will likely constitute the majority of use. The large indoor pool is expected to increase visitation to Sunriver in the spring and fall shoulder seasons.
SHARC is the result of a 14-month long association member comment and design development process, followed by an 11-month construction period that concluded in February 2012.
The $18.3 million project represented 1 percent of private construction activity in Oregon in 2011. The project provided more than 200 on-site construction jobs for more than 50 Central Oregon-based contractors and tradespeople. Nine full-time employees, along with up to 30 seasonal staff, were hired to operate the facility.
Information: Brooke Snavely, SROA Communications Director, 541-585-2938, brookes@srowners.org
