Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
Mayor Price: “This is our final piece of recovery to make us feel whole again.”
On Thursday afternoon the City of Andover held a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the build of the new Lodge.
The old Lodge was an Andover staple, which stood in Central Park for over 30 years, was built for the Wichita Area Girls Scout Camp Siekooc until the camp was purchased by the City. The Lodge sadly took too much damage from the 2022 tornado on April 29 and had to be rebuilt. The plan for The Lodge totals up to $2.1 million, which will be funded by Park Improvement Funds, which City Administrator Jenny McCausland made clear are not city tax funds.
The funds were created by impact funds from new residential construction, firework tents permit, alcohol tax and cell tower rents in addition to the American Rescue Plan Act funds. The American Rescue Plan Act funds were awarded to the City in 2021 to support cities in a response to COVID-19. Almost a quarter of a million was left over from the funds they received and were able to use them on this project.
“I have to tell you The Lodge holds a sentimental place to me,” said McCausland. “Because if you don’t know the history of Central Park, this was a Girls Scout camp and in the late 1980’s I went to Camp Seikooc as a Girls Scout. I didn’t know what a City Administrator was so to stand here today as the Andover City Administrator an to be able to bring this building back to the community is such a surreal experience.”
The Lodge was a gathering space for the City of Andover and surrounding residents as a rental space for weddings, parties, city council meetings and workshops, and more. Now the new Lodge will be used for the same purposes in addition to VIP seating in partnership with the Captiol Federal Amphitheater during entertainment events.
“The Lodge will help Central Park get back to its full function,” said Daniel Schapaugh, Director of Parks and Recreation. “It’s more than just a park, it’s all these activities and events that everyone comes here for, it’s more than just the physical location for the building. It’s complimentary to concerts to festivals, GAD, Hometown Christmas, weddings.”
The Lodge will be built 100 yards west of the original location, placing it in front of the amphitheater. Inside visitors will see a main activity room, lobby, box office, restrooms and offices on the main level. On the second level there will be space reserved for a stage crew to control lighting and speakers, so stage audio is just as good at the stage as it is at The Lodge. The building was designed with acoustics and stage echoes in mind in order to create a cleaner sound in the park and help minimize sound reverb.
“It took a lot of people to get us to his point,” said Andover Mayor Ronnie Price. “This is kind of the final band aid ripped to start healing. I’ve been referring to this project as the last milestone for our community following the 2022 tornado so what a special day this is.”
The Lodge is expected to reach construction completion within 163 working construction days, according to the contractor for the job, Key Construction. The City anticipates The Lodge to be fully functional by June of 2025 and plan to host a grand opening and ribbon cutting when the time comes.
