The future Civic Center will serve as Lake Forest's 100-Year Home and will be the civic heart and social center of the City. Inspired by the vision and feedback from the community and incorporating the surrounding natural beauty of Lake Forest, the Civic Center will offer a new place for people to conduct business and enjoy community activities.
Scheduled to open in fall 2019, the Civic Center will be 12.5 acres and a place where the public can enjoy classes at the Community Center, spend time with their friends at the Senior Center, or take in a play at the Performing Arts Center. It will include public facilities that address several of the community's unmet needs while providing an inviting and welcoming public space for everyone.
This page will keep you updated on all the latest project news. We hope you find the resources on this page useful, and if you’re ever unable to find what you’re looking for, please send us an email or give us a call. We look forward to working with you!
Civic Center Planning Principles
Reflect Lake Forest. Emphasize the pastoral landscape, natural topography, and unique history that set Lake Forest apart from its neighbors.
Be a destination. Develop the Civic Center complex as a destination through site location, architecture, and landscaping.
Provide new amenities. Prioritize services at the Civic Center currently unavailable to the community.
Accommodate multiple uses. Design the Civic Center buildings and amenities to accommodate multiple uses whenever possible.
Project Updates
On January 10, 2019, Lake Forest officials gathered for the Topping Out ceremony for the Civic Center complex, a celebration when the last piece of steel is placed on a project. City officials, staff and workers signed the beam before it was hoisted into the rafters of what will be the Community Center. The interiors of the Performing Arts Center/Council Chambers are in drywall, the first level interiors of the Administration Building are framed out and the Senior Center is a structurally complete.
On August 20, 2018, the construction crew began pouring concrete pads for the Performing Arts Center and the Community Center. The structure of the Performing Arts Center/City Council Chambers is starting to take shape, the framework of the 50-foot clock tower can now be seen and the parking structure is officially finished.
On April 17, 2018, the City Council unanimously approved 22 construction contracts for the Civic Center, keeping work for the project on budget and schedule.
On January 2, 2018, the City officially renamed Biscayne Bay to Serrano Summit and Indian Ocean to Civic Center Drive. With rough-grading at the Civic Center site complete, rapid progress continues as contractors begin installing utilities followed by construction of the single level parking deck. Utilities and Civic Center Drive street improvements.
On December 13, 2017, the City celebrated the first cement pour at the Civic Center site, marking another milestone reached in the construction of the community’s “100-Year” home.
Construction Timeline
Phase
Schedule
Phase 1 - Rough Grading
May 2017 to January 2018
Phase 2 - Utilities and Civic Center Drive Street Improvements
