Three and a half years after voters rejected the U-Plex, why does Urbandale have a city-run indoor gym anyway? The answer is a building at 4020 121st Street that the city didn't design, didn't put on a ballot and didn't build. It bought the gym in February, named it Recreation Station, and is opening it a piece at a time.
That way of getting a gym explains almost everything about what you'll find inside right now. The courts are ready because they were already there. Most of the other things people hear the words "rec center" and picture are still listed as later phases.
What the 2023 Ballot Asked For
The U-Plex special election was held Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The ballot asked for authority to issue up to $43 million in general-obligation bonds or capital-loan notes, and the measure needed 60% approval to pass.
It didn't come close. Unofficial election-night results reported by WeAreIowa showed 87.71% of the 5,539 voters across Urbandale's 12 Polk County precincts voting no. In the city's three Dallas County precincts, 69.1% of 1,813 voters voted no.
The proposal was a new build at the southeast corner of Meredith Drive and 152nd Street, inside Walnut Creek Regional Park. Axios Des Moines described it as a facility of about 65,000 square feet. According to WeAreIowa, the indoor plans included a walking track, a gymnasium, pickleball and/or basketball courts, an indoor playground, rental space and multipurpose rooms. Outside there would have been pickleball courts, a splash pad, a playground, programming space and shaded gathering space.
A Finished Building Instead of a Design
Urbandale's Parks and Recreation Commission minutes from March 11, 2026, say the city finalized the purchase of the gym at 4020 121st Street on Friday, February 27, and named it Recreation Station. The building went up in 2017. It covers 20,856 square feet, and most of that is a 17,000-square-foot gym with two courts. The rest is office space and a 1,200-square-foot room the city plans to turn into a wellness area.
The Des Moines Register's May 28 headline covered the timing in one line: "Urbandale opens public indoor gym years after voters denied U-Plex." The article's opening calls the new access "a recreation complex with some of the same features but on a larger scale."
Here's how the two compare on the details the sources actually give:
| U-Plex proposal, 2023 | Recreation Station, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| How it happened | New build, needed a bond vote with 60% approval | Purchase of an existing building, finalized Feb. 27, 2026 |
| Location | Meredith Drive and 152nd Street, Walnut Creek Regional Park | 4020 121st Street |
| Size | About 65,000 sq ft | 20,856 sq ft |
| Courts | Indoor pickleball and/or basketball, plus outdoor pickleball | 17,000 sq ft two-court gym |
| Walking track, playground, splash pad | Included in the plan | Not on the city's current or future lists |
| Wellness and classes | Rental and community space | 1,200 sq ft room planned as a wellness area |
The 2023 vote covered all of that table's left column at once. The 2026 version starts with the one piece that already existed, a gym, and adds the rest one step at a time.
What You Can Book This Month
The gym opened to the public in spring. A City of Urbandale sponsored feature in the Business Record, dated May 15, lists what was available then: court rentals for basketball, indoor soccer and other gym activities, and practice space for teams, leagues and group programs.
Pickleball came first. The city calendar ran free pop-in pickleball on Tuesdays from 5 to 8 p.m., May 19 through July 21. This fall the format is reservable court time. The city's listing for Thursday, October 29, 7 to 9 a.m., spells out how it works:
- Courts: three pickleball courts in the West Gym
- Cost: $10 per hour, per court
- Limit: up to two hours per day
- Booking window: no earlier than two weeks ahead and no later than three days before your time
- After the deadline: call 515-278-3963 during regular business hours if courts are still open
- Age: 18 and older
The city sells this as guaranteed court time with "no waiting, no rotating, just pickleball." Splitting a $10 court among four players for an early-morning hour costs each of them $2.50.
Full-court rentals have a different rate history. In March, the commission approved staff's recommendation of $50 per hour for one court and $100 for both, with no discounts, and staff planned to send it to City Council on March 17. That figure was a recommendation, so call the Parks and Recreation office to confirm the current rate before planning a team practice around it.
The Parts Still Listed as "Next"
The Business Record feature says Recreation Station "will grow in phases," with the first phase focused on court rentals and flexible use. It names the upcoming improvements:
- Renovated gym flooring
- New volleyball standards
- Dedicated Parks and Recreation offices
- Expanded programming and more community activity
After those come the future programs: yoga, cardio and Zumba classes, senior recreation, pickleball open play and leagues, community events, more court rentals, and an upgraded wellness space.
At least one item on the first list is done. The city posted on September 8 that Parks and Recreation offices had moved to Recreation Station, so front-desk help, key pickups and drop-offs, and other department business now happen at 4020 121st Street. If you've ever gone to pick up a shelter key, that's the new address.
The classes haven't caught up yet. The city's own feature still lists classes, wellness programming and senior recreation under future programs, and none of the sources sets a start date for yoga, Zumba, senior programs or pickleball leagues. Recreation Superintendent Mollie Wilhite describes the building in terms of its core:
"With a 17,000-square-foot gym at its core, Recreation Station reflects how we think about growth—investing in regional amenities that support families and workforce attraction."
Put that phase list next to the U-Plex plan and the gap is clear. The gym, courts and community programming overlap. The walking track, both playgrounds and the splash pad from the 2023 proposal don't show up anywhere in Recreation Station's current or future lists. The city calls the building a hub for activity, wellness and connection that it will build out over time. It doesn't call it a replacement for every piece of the plan voters turned down.
Oct. 16 Is the First Open House
For anyone who hasn't been inside, the city is holding a public open house at Recreation Station on Friday, October 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. The notice, posted September 28, invites people to explore the facility, play games and try activities.
The open house is a good time to ask about what isn't posted yet: current full-court rental rates, when the gym floor renovation is scheduled, and whether any of the planned classes have a start date. The West Gym pickleball courts and the new Parks and Recreation front desk are already open, so the booking rules and key pickup can be sorted out the same afternoon.
Two other city events fall around the open house. The Downtown Urbandale Block Party runs Saturday, October 10, 4 to 7 p.m., at 7031 Douglas Ave., with food trucks, music, mini-golf and cornhole, and admission is free. Two days after the open house, the Arts in Action Festival at Urbandale Library on Sunday, October 18, from 1 to 4 p.m., offers four hands-on workshops, including cyanotype sunprinting and wet-felting.
Urbandale bought a finished 2017 building and is improving it in phases instead of starting from scratch. A lot of homeowners take the same approach before they sell: find out which upgrades pay off first and plan the rest in order. If you're weighing that kind of project on your own Urbandale home, Tim Lucken REAL can help you set the order and the budget. Schedule your free Market-Ready Consultation.
