We are very excited to report our progress on our New Community Center Project where we are planning on building an 18,000 – 20,000 square foot facility and have created this page to keep the public up-to-date on news and events related to this endeavor. We are sending out our Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to architectural firms on Monday, July 20, 2026 and have a posting and link herein.
The history of this project dates back to March of 2022 when the Tapply-Thompson Community Center (TTCC) also known as Bristol Recreation Advisory Council {BRAC} held a Strategic Planning Session and identified 3 key goals to meet by April of 2025. Strategic Goal Number Two was identified as: By 2025, we will have a facility that meets our physical space needs and that is safe, welcoming, and accessible for everyone.
This was deemed a priority as it was identified that the current facility was not adequate for the success and growth of the TTCC Mission. In that vein, work began to list the various renovation work inherent in the current facility and to explore the building of a New Community Center. We completed renovations of the current center at 30 North Main Street last year that include improved handicap access, a new gym floor, four additional bathrooms, a sprinkler and security system, new offices and game room and so much more. In the time that followed that project we worked on preparing for a new center facility to meet increasing demands and have had great success in securing federal funding and local support to make this dream a reality.
For the New Community Center Project, an ideal property in town at 90 Lake Street was identified, an offer made and accepted and planning for design and construction is now underway. We want to assure everyone that we do not intend to leave our current site at 30 North Main Street, but to add a new facility to help meet the expanded and ongoing demands of the children and families we serve. For almost eighty years we have been an essential resource for the Newfound Region and with this project hope to strengthen that partnership and purpose to continue to be a safe place where community comes together.
We work directly with 8 towns within our catchment area {Alexandria, Bristol, Bridgewater, Danbury, Groton, Hebron, Hill and New Hampton} and are open to all organizations to share our space for their unique programs. Collaboration is a key area of our success, and we plan to utilize this strength within the scope of our New Center.
This New Community Center is essential as it will provide additional programming space, as demand for our current Community Center is at full capacity. We also hope to include a Commercial & Community Kitchen that will allow all kinds of different groups to come in and provide healthy, warm meals for events and special occasions, as well as the building of a full-sized gymnasium to be used as a regional site for athletic, recreational and fitness opportunities.
We are currently at the design and engineering phase of our New Community Center Project and held a Community Visioning Design Charette om June 16, 2026 with the Lakes Region Planning Commission. We received over 70 different public comments from this event and a subsequent survey that will help us shape the final design of this new facility.
We will be holding another Public Presentation that includes and incorporates the comments we received on August 29th from 10am to 3pm at the Bristol Old Home Day. We hope to hear from people at this time as we work on creating a final design for this essential facility for all the communities we serve and beyond.
Please visit this page for important updates and to view our progress as we work together on creating an amazing new community center facility.
