Lambert Construction Completes Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center-YMCA

April 5, 2011

Lambert Construction Company has been honored with a Build Oklahoma Award from the Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma-Building Chapter for managing construction of the new Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center-YMCA. The company received the award at the 71st annual meeting of the AGC, held on January 22, 2011.

Since the opening of the state-of-the-art fitness and recreation facility in December 2010, YMCA membership has more than doubled. Currently it stands at 9,500, or 37 percent of Ponca City’s population.

Architect of the Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center-YMCA was Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture. Based in Wichita, Kansas, the firm has designed many large health/fitness centers, including numerous YMCAs.

Lambert Construction Company served in two roles on the Ponca City project – value engineering consultant during the pre-bid process and construction manager for interior and exterior facilities. The Lambert team was led by Steven Mitchell, project manager; John Lawler, project superintendent; Daniel Lewis, on-site project engineer; and Mike Bahar, assistant project engineer.

Interior facilities at the new Ponca City YMCA, totaling more than 76,000 square feet, include:

• 30-foot rock climbing wall

• Cardio and fitness room with more than 80 Stairmasters, treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight machines

• Elevated three-lane track

• Two basketball courts

• Racket ball/handball courts

• Olympic pool for competitive swimming and fitness

• Whirlpool

• Zero-entry family pool with spiral slide for children

• On-site daycare with a “kid zone” for fitness

According to Mark Lambert, president of Lambert Construction, several features of the building are of particular interest from the design and construction perspective. “Because of its size,” Lambert said, “the climbing wall had to be installed early in construction; we then built the rest of the facility around the climbing structure.

Also, the building design is notable for the extensive use of pre-cast concrete panels, which help to streamline the construction process and control costs. And the aquatics venue, with three pools, has a highly specialized plumbing, filtration, and temperature control system.”

Exterior facilities at the Ponca City YMCA cover 46 acres and include two multipurpose playing fields for soccer and football as well as a baseball/softball complex with four regulation softball fields, four little league baseball fields, and concession areas. The new complex will allow the community to host baseball and softball tournaments and attract youth teams from around the region.

In addition to the Build Oklahoma Award for the Ponca City Aquatic and Family Center-YMCA, Lambert Construction also earned a Build Oklahoma Award for the Payne County Courthouse and Jail in the Renovation category, and company president Mark Lambert was honored as Oklahoma Builder of the Year. 

The Ponca City YMCA was funded by a combination of private donations and voter-approved sales tax extension.