marana community and aquatics centr

Location: Marana, AZ

Completion: 05/2025

Size: 62,000 sf

The Marana Aquatics and Recreation Center is a 62,000-square-foot community recreation and aquatic facility located in the heart of Marana’s emerging downtown. Now open to the public, the Center serves as a central hub for fitness, wellness, and community life, supporting residents of all ages and abilities.

The facility includes a modern fitness center, indoor walking track, flexible group exercise rooms, multipurpose community spaces, a large community room for events and gatherings, a teen center, child watch, and three full-size indoor multisport courts designed for basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and large community events. These adaptable spaces allow the Center to host daily programming, civic functions, and regional sports tournaments.

The outdoor aquatic complex features a 12-lane competition lap pool, a family recreation pool with splash features, resistance channel, water slides, diving well, cabanas, and shaded pool deck areas, creating a year-round destination for recreation and competitive swimming in Southern Arizona.

Designed to perform in a desert climate, the project incorporates passive shading strategies, large roof overhangs, solar energy systems, water-efficient fixtures, high-performance building systems, and on-site stormwater retention to address flood mitigation and long-term resilience. Elevated above the FEMA floodplain, the Center is designed to remain operational during storm events while contributing to the health of the surrounding watershed.

As a cornerstone of Marana’s downtown redevelopment, the Aquatics and Recreation Center enhances walkability, supports economic development, and provides a welcoming, multigenerational gathering place. The project reflects the Town’s commitment to health, sustainability, and civic life while subtly drawing inspiration from Marana’s agricultural and ranching heritage.