Crew Clears Site for New $8.3M Newburyport Rec Center

Construction has begun at the site of a new $8.3 million recreation center in Newburyport that will ultimately house the city's Recreation and Youth Services (RYS) department.

When completed, the facility will feature a gymnasium, lobby, RYS staff offices, a makerspace, early education center, multipurpose areas, and quiet study spaces. The new center, at 59 Low St., is being constructed across from the Edward G. Molin Upper Elementary School and the Rupert A. Nock Middle School. 

A crew is currently clearing the site and prepping the land for construction. Work at the site will involve gutting the interior of the former National Guard building for conversion into a recreation center. Harvard-based L.D. Russo Inc. was awarded the city's contract for the project after submitting the lowest bid of $7.1 million in March.

The bid includes a $6.8 million base price with the option to install a new roof for an additional $317,050. An additional $214,013 would be spent hiring an owner's project manager, and $497,538 would also be necessary for a 7% contingency budget. 

Additionally, $444,700 will be needed for traffic safety on Low Street and for relocating the city's parks division from Low Street to Perry Way.

A community walkthrough of the structure will be held in September. 

“We wanted to give residents, especially since this was a project approved at the ballot box, an opportunity to see the site, the project in action, talk to the contractor, the project manager,” Mayor Sean Reardon said in a statement with The Daily News.

According to Reardon, the project is on track for completion in November 2026.