Our Vision
The vision to develop a community center in east-Vancouver was born in 1998, when a citizen steering committee led a master planning process. The result: a concept plan that became the genesis for Firstenburg Community Center.
Since the plan was completed in 1999/2000, city officials have viewed the facility as a centerpiece of expanded city services to the 17.6 square miles in east Vancouver which were annexed by the City of Vancouver in 1997.
In 2002, the City approved the use of Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) dollars for the capital expenses related to the $21.1 million community center. The Community Foundation of Southwest Washington donated $3 million in the name of Ed and Mary Firstenburg, founders of First Independent Bank, and the remaining funds were provided through a Community Development Block Grant and an economic development grant from the state of Washington.
Ready, set, action
The project was launched in January of 2003 when Portland's Opsis Architecture began a year-long design process. In June of 2004 Berschauer Phillips Construction Co. of Olympia was awarded the construction contract. Community excitement quickly grew about this grand new civic space.
In addition to the beauty of the building, the community center has been designed with "green" goals in mind. In addition to preserving much of the mature tree stands surrounding the building, careful planning has allowed this project to leave a minimal development footprint due to its environmentally responsible civic architecture. Examples of this commitment to environmentally-sound building principles include: abundant use of day lighting and cross-ventilation; use of porous concrete to manage storm water; fir milled from site trees and reused as benches, wall paneling and bleachers; dimmable energy-efficient lighting fixtures - and the list goes on. Energy use is anticipated to be at least 30 percent less than a traditional recreation center.
The City of Vancouver received Gold LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) Certification for Firstenburg Community Center.
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