Saturday
May 18, 2024 
Funds from Doylestown Country Club’s golf outing this week gave a boost to Doylestown Township’s ambitious plan for a new recreation center.
Held Monday, the club’s annual golf event has long been an effective fundraiser for the township’s parks and recreation programs and this year golfers raised $35,000 for the highly anticipated community center.
Township officials announced a $1.5 million capital campaign earlier this year after breaking ground on an approximately $10 million, 18,000-square-foot project at the community’s Central Park on Wells Road.
Plans call for one large room, which can be divided into three smaller spaces for classes and other programs, athletic activities, meetings and special occasion celebrations. There will be a full kitchen across the hall for cooking classes and party preparations.
An 84-foot-by-50-foot gym will be a major feature of the community center, township manager Stephanie Mason said earlier. The community will be able to play pickleball, basketball and volleyball in the facility.
Three new tennis courts, two basketball courts and six pickleball courts will be developed on an existing athletic field.
A permanent restroom and watering station are in the works to serve visitors to Kids Castle as well as amphitheater concertgoers.
In the event of a natural disaster or other emergency, the gym can serve as a “shelter-in-place” area, Mason said.
The recreation complex is the largest project of its kind the township’s taken on since buying the 155.5-acre property from a developer in 1991. Central Park was dedicated in June 1995. Two years later, the park’s signature eight-story playground, Kids Castle, was built, largely by volunteers.
In addition to the golfers’ contributions, the township is working to attract larger gifts of $100,000 and $200,000 for sponsoring rooms and other spaces at the center. Raffle tickets are also being sold to raise funds for the complex. For $100 participants can have a chance for an e-bike, Flyers tickets and a Florida vacation.
Township officials said earlier that they expect to float a bond to help pay for the center and offer naming rights. A $1M state grant was also secured.
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