By Tom Hardesty
The Summiteer

Update Jan. 20, 2025: Officials in the Hudson city administration have disputed that a join purchase of LifeCenter Plus is under consideration. We're working on a follow-up article to learn more. This article will remain published, along with any updates, to preserve the record.

City leaders from Hudson and Stow are in preliminary talks to jointly purchase the LifeCenter Plus recreation center in Hudson and share it between the two communities.

While things are in the exploratory stage right now, both cities have targeted a community recreation center as a civic priority. Hudson’s Comprehensive Plan references a recreation center, while city council has established an internal staff committee to explore the possibility.

Stow, meanwhile, mulled the idea in recent years of constructing a state-of-the-art rec center but decided against it because it was cost-prohibitive, with a consulting firm telling the city in 2023 that such a brand-new facility would have a price tag of around $43 million.

LifeCenter Plus, with its $2.8 million listing price, would be far cheaper. The private recreation center, located at 5133 Darrow Rd. in Hudson near the Stow border, is for sale because its owners are eyeing retirement.

Stow and Hudson have also considered collaborating on construction of a new multi-community recreation center, but at this point they appear to be switching gears to the more cost-effective option of sharing an existing facility.

As it’s currently configured, the LifeCenter Plus property sits on 10 acres of land and features a one-story sports facility encompassing 64,462 square feet that includes multiple indoor sports courts, an indoor track and two indoor swimming pools. While original construction dates to 1973, the building has undergone updates and improvements as recently as 2004.

The property also includes three outdoor pools as well as a 265-space parking lot. There is also additional land on the property that could be utilized for further facility development.

Hudson City Council’s internal staff committee has also “reached out to and met with several nearby communities, including Stow, as it does its due diligence to look at a variety of options for a possible rec center,” Jody Roberts, communications manager for Hudson, told the Akron Beacon Journal in a story posted Dec. 19. “Our findings will be presented to City Council in the coming year.”