FAQ

The Valley Community Center is at a pivotal moment in realizing its vision of a community-focused recreation center serving the greater St. Croix Valley. We are ready to take critical next steps but need additional expertise and organizational infrastructure to move from concept to construction.

We are actively fundraising to build capacity funding to advance this vision by strengthening communications, securing a physical location, formalizing partnerships, and ensuring equity and belonging remain central to the mission.

A tremendous amount of predevelopment work has been accomplished by the VCC Board in the last two years including:

• Testing of community needs through surveys, community meetings, and externally facilitated demographic and market analyses

• Concept refinement through site visits of peer facilities and preliminary architectural work

• Site analysis and preliminary testing/selection

• Meetings with city council members, mayors, government officials, school district leaders, and county and state leaders to understand needs and maximize alignment with existing development priorities

• Ongoing community engagement with a growing list of supporters

• Organizational development, including board recruitment, preliminary staffing, and the integration of consultant expertise as appropriate

• In addition to Ballard*King, we are collaborating with the following consultants on this initiative: Hamilton & Associates, Square Loop Planning, Wendy Holmes Consulting and Bigger Picture Solutions.

• We are actively building public partnerships as we imagine a multi-partner, regional community hub.

The Valley Community Center hopes to break ground in the next two to three years. Learn more about our plans here.

After considering many potential site options in the central St. Croix River Valley, Valley Community Center Partners is evaluating a site downtown Lake Elmo at Lake Elmo Ave N. and Stillwater Blvd.

The Lake Elmo Elementary School site went on the market in September, 2025. In November, 2025 the Stillwater Area Public School District entered into an agreement to sell the current Lake Elmo Elementary School site, located at 11030 Stillwater Blvd N, to Valley Community Center Partners, Inc. (VCCP). The sale includes the building and approximately 12.86 acres of land. In December, 2025 VCC tied up the property.

VCCP is in a due-diligence period to review title, survey, environmental, soil, and feasibility considerations. The agreement allows the district to finish out the current school year before moving into the new Lake Elmo Elementary building over the summer. The new Lake Elmo Elementary school, which is currently under construction at the corner of 10th Street and Lake Elmo Avenue, will open next fall. We are rooting for our growing community!

The purchase agreement allows for seven months of due diligence including deeper analysis of the site, continuing discussions with public partners, keeping other stakeholders involved, and, importantly, conducting additional community outreach. The VCC is striving to bring a new community gathering place to the heart of Lake Elmo that serves the surrounding communities in the St. Croix Valley including Stillwater, Oak Park Heights, Bayport, and more. In the next few months, they will be conducting a market study and securing the funds for the site acquisition and the future building. You’re encouraged to join the mailing list to keep informed of the progress thevalleycenter.org/mailing-list or contribute to the effort.

This central location will serve the diverse population of eastern Washington County and the St. Croix Valley region.

Within a 15-minute drive of our anticipated location, there are 63,273 households and a population of 179,909.

Join our volunteer committee! We always need volunteers to help spread the word and help our team make this vision a reality.

Contact us for opportunities.

You may wish to serve on the Board of Directors. Please learn more about applying here.

We are looking at all funding options and opportunities. Our goal is to find a solution that does not increase taxes, but provides the community with this vital service.

If you would like to donate to our predevelopment work, you may do so here.

This vision many of you have helped create represents a generational gift to our region that will have ripples we cannot even begin to know. Thank you in helping to create a legacy.

According to Washington County’s Community Needs Status Report (2024), 34% of respondents had not engaged in exercise in 30 days. Physical activity was identified as one of five high-priority needs in the Community Health Needs Assessment conducted by HealthPartners.

As cited in the 2025 Lakeview Hospital Implementation Plan to address this finding, access to physical activity spaces will improve mental health and well-being of youth and families by providing whole-person wellness in a community model.

To envision the right community center for the St. Croix Valley, the VCC has combined extensive third-party market and demographic analysis coupled with stakeholder meetings, surveys, and numerous well-attended community engagement activities.  Our research has identified:

• High demand for accessible indoor recreational activities, aquatic center, and fitness opportunities.

• The desire for a centralized gathering spot for people of all ages & abilities to connect.

• An absence of affordable, accessible community facilities for underserved populations, including seniors and lower-income families. 

Washington County underperforms both state and national benchmarks; the county simply doesn’t have enough facilities. Residents have below-average access to exercise opportunities, fewer recreation facilities per capita than state and national benchmarks, and clear geographic disparities in resource distribution—particularly in lower-density areas like Lake Elmo.

There is a system-wide shortage or uneven distribution of facilities. A recreation center would directly improve this metric by expanding access.

Combined with rising concerns about physical inactivity, obesity, and chronic disease, these findings demonstrate a clear need for expanded, local, year-round recreation infrastructure such as a community recreation center. 

• Washington County’s 2025 Community Survey features top health concerns from the general public including obesity and mental health.

• The 2024 Community Health Assessment points to several needs and shows Lake Elmo’s rapid population growth, increasing recreation demand, and reliance on outdoor-only amenities, combined with county health and planning goals emphasizing access to active living, demonstrate a clear need for a year-round community recreation center to serve residents of all ages.

• The 2024 Community Context Assessment features themes around building community conversations, including Community Safety, the need for safe community gathering spaces, and mental health supports. 

• The 2025 Community Health Improvement Plan states the four priorities are: Access to Health Care, Transportation, Housing, and Mental Health/Community Safety.

• Of particular note, the Mental Health Action Plan (page 26) calls out fostering opportunities for people across the life span to build and leverage protective factors that benefit mental health. 

Minnesota Student Survey data which was last analyzed in 2022 (new data forthcoming from the 2025 survey this summer) report shows that only about 40% of high school students in Washington County meet recommended physical activity levels, with participation declining significantly as youth age. 

This indicates a lack of accessible, age-appropriate opportunities for sustained physical activity. A community recreation center would directly address this gap by providing year-round, structured, and socially engaging spaces that support adolescent physical and mental well-being.