It&#8217;s the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department&#8217;s early Christmas present to a southeast Kansas City neighborhood.</p><p>The public will find the Southeast Community Center addresses almost all fitness needs when the facility opens in early December. I recently toured the $12 million center off 63rd Street in Swope Park.</p><p>I came away convinced that the design of the facility is environmentally friendly and well thought out. There&#8217;s space in the 46,755-square-foot facility to do almost anything, including rock climbing.</p><p>The public is invited to a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration Dec. 13. Titan Construction Co. oversaw the construction of the facility, while KAI, an architectural firm, designed it.</p><p>&#8220;I do think they&#8217;ve done beautiful work,&#8221; said Marci Jones, the south region manager for the parks department. &#8220;From the stain on the floor to the cut-ins on the wall, everybody did beautiful work.&#8221;</p><p>The community center has two levels and offers numerous exercise options.</p><p>The exercise room will have free weights and state-of-the-art machines. Several rooms just off the fitness room will be reserved for aerobics and spinning classes.</p><p>The facility has a recreational pool area, which has a water slide. The aquatics area includes a therapy pool, which uses flowing current to assist patients with their rehabilitation.</p><p>The facility has a basketball court so cavernous that multiple games or activities can be held simultaneously. Above the gym is a one-twelfth-mile track.</p><p>Near the lockers I saw the geothermal heating and cooling unit that makes the facility energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The system uses water that runs off the building to heat and cool the structure.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very efficient,&#8221; said a worker who was there inspecting the final product. &#8220;These pipes go out underneath the ground, and they reject the heat during the summer. They put the heat into the ground so we can bring cooler water back and take the heat out of the building. In the wintertime, it&#8217;s just the opposite.&#8221;</p><p>The facility will also use energy-efficient lighting that comes on only when someone enters the room. Only the staff will be able to turn the lights on with a key.</p><p>The facility is equipped with a sauna and a steam room, and it has plenty of wall space.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a great opportunity for artwork,&#8221; Jones said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got walls that we can do all kinds of stuff with. We could partner with art schools who could have their art on display upstairs or downstairs.&#8221;</p><p>The north side of the facility will feature a rain garden that will capture storm-water runoff. There&#8217;s a tot-dropoff room as well as a room exclusively for teens that will include a bank of computers.</p><p>Overall, the facility gets a major thumbs up. The swimming pool could be bigger and much more accommodating for swimming laps. And the new roadway just off 63rd Street that leads to the community center needs a name.</p><p>Other than those issues, the public will not be disappointed. In a park that boasts Starlight Theatre, the Kansas City Zoo and the Lakeside Nature Center, the brand-new community center is a much needed addition.</p><p>The Southeast Community Center is a gift to Kansas Citians that should be used as much as possible by as many people as possible.