A nonprofit that has been working for years to bring an indoor pool and community center to the Stillwater area has entered into an agreement to purchase the current Lake Elmo Elementary School site for $4.25 million.
Stillwater Area Public School District officials announced on Tuesday morning that the district is selling the property at 11030 Stillwater Blvd. N. to Valley Community Center Partners Inc. The sale includes the building and approximately 12.86 acres of land.
The nonprofit is planning to build a new community center on the site. Among the planned amenities: an aquatics facility, fitness and recreation spaces, courts for multiple sports, youth activity areas, gathering spaces and programs serving people of all ages and abilities.
The group’s vision is to “create a central, accessible place that promotes social connection, physical and mental wellness and recreational opportunities for the entire St. Croix Valley region,” according to the group’s website. “At this time, no equivalent community resource exists.”
Potential demolition costs for the existing building are already accounted for within the district’s voter-approved bond proceeds, district officials said.
The organization will have a 210-day due-diligence period to review title, survey, environmental, soil and feasibility considerations.
The closing is scheduled for Dec. 1, 2026, or earlier by mutual agreement. That date allows the district to finish out the current school year before moving into the new Lake Elmo Elementary building over the summer. The new school, which is currently under construction at the corner of 10th Street and Lake Elmo Avenue, opens next fall.
“We are pleased that this agreement both supports our district’s long-term facilities plan and opens the door for a community-focused redevelopment of the site,” said Superintendent Mike Funk. “This project has the potential to bring meaningful benefits to families across the region.”
Valley Community Center Partners has been working for years to create a central, accessible community hub within the boundaries of the Stillwater Area School District.
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In 2023, the group hired Colorado-based Ballard*King & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in, among other things, creating feasibility studies for recreational and sports facilities, to conduct a survey of more than 1,300 residents of the area.
Nearly 90 percent of the respondents supported an indoor pool. “Spoiler alert: everybody wants a pool,” Diane Polasik, vice president of the board, told the Pioneer Press at the time. “Since we don’t have a pool, we have to go to other community pools and drive a ways to get there.”
In addition to an indoor pool, top trends in the survey were multi-purpose gyms, group exercise, indoor play, community gathering, indoor run/jog and teens programs. More than 80 percent of the responders indicated those things were important.
More information about Valley Community Center is available at thevalleycenter.org.
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