UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — The structure rises slowly yet magnificently on the horizon, signaling the dawn of a new day in a township nearing its bicentennial.
The debut of the $48.5 million Lifestyle Community Center at Grange Park took another step on Thursday afternoon at a walking news conference.
“This is gonna be a really magical place."Jeff Fleischaker, Upper Macungie Township supervisor
The introduction of the installation of the first of 18 heavy timber trusses, imported from Austria, served as an integral piece of the 188,000-square-foot, multi-functional indoor facility.
“This is gonna be a really magical place,” township supervisor Jeff Fleischaker said at the conclusion of the tour as workers continued assembling the center’s frame.
“We’re super excited about a year from now when we open the doors and let you see what we all envisioned for the past 15 years to get here.”
Work that began in September continues on what is currently a skeleton-shell mix of timber and steel.
When the community center opens in Summer 2026, it will contain a 130,000-square-foot, artificial turf soccer field, a running track, volleyball and basketball courts, lounges, a workout area, a cafeteria and meeting rooms.
A separate part of the center will be available for large community events, concerts, cooking and craft events, meetings, senior programs and fitness classes and pickleball.
Membership fees have not been established.
'Town center'
Since the community center project began, construction crews have completed site work and infrastructure improvements.
Foundation walls and underground utilities are underway, and sections of slab-on-grade concrete have been poured.
“Once we got to this point, people could see the scale and uniqueness of how special the project is.”Kyle Butz, project executive with Alvin H. Butz Inc. of Allentown
Structural engineering firm StructureCraft now is on site, preparing to lay out the timber trusses. In the coming weeks, additional wood materials will arrive and be pre-assembled on site.
The superstructure construction will continue through the summer. Light wood framing and other secondary structural components will begin in September and continue through fall.
The defining feature of the project is its long-span timber structure, engineered and built by StructureCraft, which will reduce the carbon footprint compared with traditional steel structures while offering a warm, natural aesthetic.
Once the community center project reached its current stage, area residents began to speak more about what Township Manager Robert Ibach Jr. envisions as its “town center.”
“Up till this point, people drove by and didn’t see anything, but a lot was going on in the ground,” said Kyle Collina, project executive with Alvin H. Butz Inc. of Allentown.
“Once we got to this point, people could see the scale and uniqueness of how special the project is.”
'That's what we're going to build'
The community center project is a joint design and construction effort among center owner Upper Macungie Township, HKA5 Architecture, StructureCraft and Alvin H. Butz Inc.
Work on the community center is not limited to the structure, as fundraising for the project continues.
According to Jessica Edris, of the township’s Community Center Fund, the project is $10 million to $15 million short of its $48.5 million goal.
The use of timber highlights the township’s commitment to environmentally responsible construction.
The facility also will feature additional sustainable elements, including a turf field made from 80% recycled materials and a fully recyclable high-performance gym floor.
“We’d gone through probably a dozen different designs, when our architect, Howard Kulp, happened upon the timber frame construction,” Ibach said.
“Once we saw the renderings, it would have been hard to not say that’s what we’re going to build.
“Grange Park is geographically pretty much the center of the township. One of the things we heard from residents during our comprehensive plan update was that we have our little villages, but we never could identify a town center.
"This will be that town center.”
