BANDON — Bandon’s going green.

If crews remain on schedule, Bandon residents and visitors alike will  have a “new” and “green” place to congregate in the City Park by the end of the summer.

Remodeling work on the senior center and dining room at the Center in the Park (formerly known as The Barn/Community Center) will be completed sometime in August. The newly remodeled conference room area on the north end of the building is expected to be completed by October.

The $1 million project — relocating the senior center within the complex, building a new kitchen, and remodeling the East-West rooms into four conference rooms with movable partitions — is funded by grants, donations from businesses and city Urban Renewal funds.

Most of the major framing is completed and the roof trusses have been installed.

“We turned in selections for the paint, carpet and partition fabric on May 22 and they will be ordered soon,” City Manager Matt Winkel said. “Our goal still is to have a pretty first-class facility for the community to use.”

Planners made the project “as green as feasible” in terms of its environmental profile. The carpeting is made of recycled and recyclable materials. The interior paint is low in volatile organic compounds. Instead of installing vinyl flooring, contractors will install linoleum, which requires fewer harmful chemicals in its processing.

The City Council also committed to buying 100 percent green power to run the facility. Ironically, green power costs about 15 percent more than standard electricity. Using green power is expected to increase the average monthly electricity bill of $525 by about $80.

Unanticipated changes

The project is nearly on schedule, although several change orders caused a bit of a delay. Those change orders involved reconstructing interior walls that didn’t meet code, as well as areas of rot, water damage in the kitchen and the discovery of some asbestos that had to be removed.

Workers also had to replace some siding and repair roof leaks.

Officials hope to do some additional space decorating inside the center, including lighting and sconces in the meeting rooms, Winkel said.

When the city took bids on the project, new kitchen equipment wasn’t included “because there wasn’t enough money,” Winkel explained.

Officials say they need an additional $200,000.

“So we’re seeking grants and donations,” Winkel said.

Winkel added that he hopes the improved facilities will draw enough outside business to eventually make the center self-sustaining. In the past, revenue from the center paid for basic maintenance; the city subsidized utility costs.

“You can charge sufficient fees to generate money at the center, and that, in turn, allows us to keep the rental rates for local activities low. It also allows us to continue to have some activities that we haven’t charged for — like some Boy Scout events.”

In addition to using the Center in the Park, visitors also would stay at local motels, eat in local restaurants, shop in local stores, and provide more transient occupancy tax receipts, which Winkel said is a major source for the city’s general fund.

“Once the project is complete, there won’t be any taxpayer debt other than Urban Renewal debt. If we can pull it off, I think it’ll be a worthwhile investment for the community that could eventually lower the citizens’ tax burden,” he said.