Park Center sees a variety of changes

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If a person walked into the Perry Park Center they probably saw a lot of changes than what they were used to.
The Perry Park Center is currently undergoing a renovation on its main floor as part of a multi-year project.
The main portion of the project was installing new flooring and new paint on the main level.
“The floor that was there was original and was cracked along the edges,” Parks and Recreation Director Jim Cadwell said. “It needed to be done. The floors were 25 years old, and it was just time. The floors aren’t meant to go that long.”
The floor that was installed was vinyl planking, which Cadwell said is much better in terms of resistance to wear.
“This is a commercial grade,” he said. “It’s thicker and more expensive wear layer than you would have in a house,” Cadwell said. “The Park Center has 1,000 people walking in and out of here every day, so we thought that was crucial. The floor also has a design on it to represent transition from one place to the next.”
Cadwell noted that like the floors, the paint needed to be updated and was done by Jerry Hotop Painting. The floors were done by Richardet Floor Company.
The response to the changes has been good.
“Everyone has liked it so far,” Cadwell said. “I think it needed to be done.”

The Park Center is still waiting on carpet in front of the entrance to be installed and the treads on the stairs to come in and be put down.
“The carpet will be black and be that ‘wipe-off’ kind so that when people come in they can get the dirt and dust off their shoes,” Cadwell said. “The city logo will be lasered on so it’s going to look really nice. We are still waiting on the treads and they are on back order, so we don’t really know when they will come in, but we hope it is soon.”
Along with the new floor and paint, Cadwell said that most of the signage was taken down from the walls to give the building a “sleeker look.”
“We wanted to get the clutter off the walls,” he said. “We had signs up to alert people to sign up for basketball or what movie was coming up. We also had directional signs, but honestly we aren’t that big of a place. The signs we do put back in their place will be digital.”
The exterior of movie theater was updated with backlit signage to alert the community what movies are coming in the near future.
“The posters used to be in just a frame,” Cadwell said. “These have an LED lightbulb in the back. It’s the same posters from before, but I think they look much better and is eye-catching. When you come in, you’re going to know what movies we have.”
Cadwell said in the next few years the downstairs will be renovated along with the gym floor, and possibly the movie theatre after that.
“All of these things have to go through the Capital Improvement Plan and be budgeted in, but in a perfect world, all that should happen in the near future,” Cadwell said. “The gym floor is at the end of its life, and maybe do something with the bleachers.”
Cadwell hopes the first phase of the project on the main floor will be completed by Christmas.
“It all depends on shipping,” he said. “But it should give the Park Center an updated look and we hope the community enjoys the changes.”