LS3P collaborated with national recreation facility planning and design firm BRS (based in Denver, CO) to design the new Northern Regional Recreation Center for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. BRS focused on programming, community involvement, and interior design while LS3P focused on master planning, exterior design, and served as architect of record. The 86,700 SF facility is a multi-use recreation complex that serves the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville. The Center’s amenities include an 8-lane lap pool, leisure pool with closed flume slide, multi-sport courts, indoor track, fitness center, locker rooms, multi-use event rooms, catering kitchen, child watch areas, and classrooms. Based upon feedback from the local citizens, the agrarian and mill history of the region’s small towns served as the inspiration for the look and feel of the project. A Town Hall concept was utilized for the central lobby to provide views to all the main program areas. A pole-barn concept spans the larger aquatics areas with glulam beams and glass walls that allow visibility into the facility from the road, providing a light-filled interior space and providing a “billboard” for the entire center. A mill building concept led to the use of wood and brick in both the building’s exterior and interior, creating a warm and inviting space that is reminiscent of the nearby small towns.