A municipality and a charitable trust have come together along with West Virginia’s senators and the governor to start bringing a wave pool and a new community center to Mercer County and the surrounding area.

The city of Princeton and the Preservati Family Charitable Trust Foundation have agreed on new public facilities at the Bee Street Complex including the addition of a community center and outdoor wave pool, city officials announced Wednesday.

The new community center will feature three basketball courts, multi-purpose rooms and a full kitchen. Plans for the 8,000-square foot wave pool include a splash pad and an accessory building with showers, locker rooms and concessions.

The community center is expected to cost $5,933,630 and is partially funded by a joint congressional appropriation by U.S. Senator Manchin, I-WV and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV and an allocation by Gov. Jim Justice.

Congressional appropriations for the community center which were secured by Manchin and Capito amounts to around $2.2 million, and another $1.8 million came from the governor’s discretionary fund, said Samuel Lusk, director of the Princeton Economic Development Authority. The Preservati Family Charitable Trust Foundation donated in excess of 35 acres of former Dean Company land near the Bee Street Complex for the community center.

The wave pool and its accessory building are expected to cost $4,466,751 and are locally funded by the city. Funding packages for both the community center and wave pool are being finalized, with more updates on bidding and construction schedules to follow in the coming months.

A combination of cash on hand and a bond issuance will fund the wave pool project, Lusk said.

“We’re working to finalize bonding here soon as well, he said.

The hope is to start construction on the new community center in the coming months as soon as the monies for it are finalized, Lusk said. What will be done with the current Princeton Recreation Center on Morrison Drive has not been decided, but the new center will be a complete upgrade with more basketball courts and room for recreational activities.

This community center project could not have been realized without the generous land donation of the Preservati Family Charitable Trust Foundation, the federal grant dollars championed by Senator Manchin, Senator Capito and the state funding added by Gov. Jim Justice, Lusk said.

The city is also working on a future phase which will bring the Princeton Police Department into the Bee Street Complex, Lusk said. Funding for this project includes $657,000 in congressional appropriations secured by Manchin and Capito along with $650,000 from Gov. Jim Justice and his discretionary fund.

“We’re prioritizing the wave pool and the community center, but hope to start on the police department thereafter,” he said.