The V3 Center Opens in Minneapolis’s Near North Neighborhood
The first phase of a planned two-phase aquatics and sports center expands community access to health, wellness, and water safety
By Chris Hudson | July 18, 2024
The V3 Center enjoys a wide view of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. The project was recently awarded the 2024 Michael L. Schrock AIA Minneapolis Merit Award. Photo by Gilbertson Photography.
FEATURE
V3 Sports was founded by former world triathlete champion Erika Binger in 2007 to help North Minneapolis teens train for triathlons. Without a home of its own, the resourceful organization used other facilities for training activities, including the pools at Franklin Middle School and the North Community YMCA. And it began dreaming of—and fundraising for—a new facility that would address a glaring disparity in Northside access to fitness and wellness spaces.
This summer, V3 Sports is officially off the starting block with its own $26 million, 40,000-square-foot facility at the busy intersection of Lyndale Avenue North and Plymouth Avenue North. Developed to serve the organization’s expanded mission to elevate the community through wellness, fitness, and education, the V3 Center, designed by LSE Architects, combines a five-lane, 25-yard teaching pool, a hydrotherapy pool, a 5,500-square-foot fitness center, and classrooms.
Photos 1–9: The V3 Center celebrates community with a welcoming entry plaza and colorful community-themed artwork and graphics in the lobby. More than two-thirds of the contractors and design team members on the project live and work in North Minneapolis. Photos by Gilbertson Photography.
It also houses an Agape Oasis childcare center, a Boys & Girls Club space, and a 50-seat restaurant, which will open this fall. Instead of waiting years for these offerings to sprout up around the new building, V3 Sports engaged community partners to bring them inside. “We knew that there were great programs and resources in North Minneapolis and people who really care about the work they do,” says V3 Sports executive director Malik Rucker. “That allowed us to say, ‘OK, let’s work with these experts and figure out how to make it all fit within the facility.’”
The exterior of the two-story building features angled façade elements that convey energy and movement, and expanses of glass that draw the eyes of passersby into the pool. Inside, a long lobby with splashes of V3 Sports blue and a colorful mural serves as a main street for the teaching and therapy pools, restaurant, and daycare. A central blue stair with repeating “NORTH MPLS” graphics takes guests up to the fitness center.
“You understand when you move up and down that stair—and when you look out from the fitness area to the neighborhood to the north and the downtown skyline to the east—that you are part of a larger community.”
“You understand when you move up and down that stair—and when you look out from the fitness area to the neighborhood to the north and the downtown skyline to the east—that you are part of a larger community,” says LSE Architects CEO and principal Mohammed Lawal, FAIA, NOMA. “You can tell the building is designed not just for any place but for this corner, this neighborhood.”
Funding for the project included a bonding commitment from the State of Minnesota, low- to no-interest public loans, and a mix of grants, philanthropic gifts, and individual donations.
Sustainability features include a high-performance building envelope for energy savings and a massive cistern for advanced stormwater management—the latter a fitting measure for an aquatic center with a story to tell about the value of a key natural resource. For the five-lane pool, V3 Sports invested in regenerative media filters that provide cleaner water than do traditional sand filters. Cleaner water requires less chlorine.
Photos 1–6: The 25-yard teaching pool, therapy pool, fitness center, and classroom space. Photos by Gilbertson Photography.
The V3 Center has the look of a fully completed facility, but in fact it’s only the first phase of a planned two-phase, $100 million development. A 180,000-square-foot expansion, slated for completion in 2027, will add a 1,000-seat, 50-meter competition pool, a four- or six-court gymnasium, entrepreneurial and technology centers, and space for STEAM programming, among other amenities. For the competition pool, V3 Sports has acquired the pool built for the 2021 U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska; the disassembled and relocated pool is now in storage, awaiting its permanent installation.
Rucker says that, in the not-too-distant future, the V3 Center will be both a community hub and a regional destination for major tournaments and trials. “Years from now, I see us hosting major events like the Paralympics and the Special Olympics,” he says. “I see us taking part in mega-events like Olympic trials and NBA and WNBA finals. I see us being an asset to the state of Minnesota all while being rooted in community, and our community members and businesses having access to those types of events and the jobs and economic benefits they bring.”
An extended interview with V3 Sports executive director Malik Rucker will appear in a future issue of ENTER.
The project team for the V3 Center included LSE Architects, Dunham Associates, IMEG, Pierce Pini and Associates, Calyx Design Group, Reengineered, RJM Construction, TRI-Construction, and Tegra Group.
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