Thursday, AUGUST 14, 2025 |
Photo – Hanna Recreation Center – by Matt Copeland Bigfoot99
An environmental consulting agency presented Hanna officials with options for its shuttered recreation center.
During Tuesday’s Hanna Town Council meeting, Mike Scholl of Ayres Associates, the state-designated firm handling Brownfields assessments, presented a redevelopment roadmap for the town’s closed recreation center. Scholl explained to the governing body that he was commissioned to estimate the cost of converting the recreation center into an industrial space or demolishing the building.
The Hanna Recreation Center was built in the 1980s to attract miners and their families to the northern Carbon County town. Intended to serve a thousand people, the facility featured a weight room, racquetball court, large gymnasium, and heated indoor pool.
As the last coal mines closed in the early 2000s, the Town of Hanna was gifted the recreation center by the coal companies. Since that time, the town has struggled to maintain the expansive facility as its population declined to just a few hundred residents. Operating the recreation center cost the town approximately $300,000 per year.
With only a handful of paid memberships and dwindling impact assistance money, the town council voted to indefinitely close the rec center in July of 2024. Although the facility is no longer in use, the town continues to pay to maintain the vacant building.
Back at Tuesday’s Hanna Town Council meeting, Mike Scholl presented the governing body with two options: repurpose the building or tear it down. However, Scholl said neither alternative would be easy or cheap.
Scholl identified the large gymnasium as the recreation center’s most valuable asset. The Ayers Associates professional said the space could be transformed into an industrial workshop, bringing much-needed employment opportunities to Hanna.
Scholl said the facility’s electrical, plumbing, and heating systems are all connected, making it difficult to use only part of the building. Separating those mechanical systems will add complexity and cost to repurposing the structure.
Scholl said the structure is well built, making extensive use of steel and concrete. The Ayres Associate professional estimated that demolishing the unneeded sections of the building will cost $458,234.
Scholl explained that the recreation center’s utility systems will need to be modernized before the building can be used as an industrial space, adding another $386,000 to the price tag. In total, repurposing the facility will cost the Town of Hanna $844,234.
Scholl presented the Hanna Town Council with another option: tearing the building down. However, the limited availability of local contractors qualified for such a large-scale job will increase demolition costs.
Scholl estimated that demolishing the Hanna Recreation Center will cost $616,616. Fortunately, the Ayres Associates professional said the building is unlikely to contain hazardous materials, such as asbestos or lead paint.
Scholl said the Wyoming Business Council may offer grant opportunities to help offset the cost of renovating the structure for future commercial development. However, grant funding is unlikely to be available to tear the building down. The Ayres Associates professional recommended pursuing private developers and available grants rather than opting for demolition.
Scholl said the Town Council should develop a plan to work with a private developer before one is found.
Mayor Charlie George thanked Scholl for his presentation and said the Town Council will take his recommendations under consideration. However, Councilman Sam Sikes expressed his desire to move directly to demolition, adding that the town lacks the resources to pursue either option.
