WILLMAR—The walls are going up at the construction site of the Willmar Recreation and Event Center, adjacent to the Willmar Civic Center. The precast walls started being installed this week with the help of a very large crane.

“By the end of next week, the walls will be completed,” said Rob Baumgarn, Willmar Parks and Recreation director.

The steel for the roof is expected to arrive in January. And once the exterior of the building is up and made weather-tight, the work on the inside will begin.

“This is tracking well, this project,” Baumgarn said. The $10 million center is one of six projects being funded by the city’s half-cent, voter-approved sales tax increase. In addition to the rec center, the projects include athletic fields plus a softball complex by the Civic Center, Swansson Field improvements, upgrades at Robbins Island Regional Park, stormwater improvements and a yet-to-be-determined project revolving around the Willmar Community Center. The plan is for the tax to raise $30 million over 13 years to fund the construction of the projects.

Read the full article by the West Central Tribune.