Reading is highlighting major upgrades to four city park fieldhouses, renovated as part of the Reading Fieldhouses Reimagined project.

The $17.9 million initiative is modernizing community recreation spaces while reducing energy costs and preserving historic structures, said Bethany Ayers Fisher, city sustainability manager.

Open house events at the fieldhouses in Baer, Keffer, Pendora and Schlegel parks are showcasing the results, from improved heating and cooling systems to better lighting, insulation and accessibility.

The city partnered with Schneider Electric, a global energy-efficiency firm, to complete the work under the state’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Act, or GESA, program, which allows public entities to finance improvements through the savings they generate.

Ayers Fisher said the upgrades mark a significant milestone in the city’s efforts to improve public facilities while advancing sustainability goals.

“It took a long time to get to here,” she told attendees Tuesday afternoon at the Schlegel Park ribbon cutting. “We started working on this about 2021, when I literally started educating and begging, ‘Can we do GESA?’”

Funding for the project came from capital allocations, rebates, investment tax credits and financing, city officials said.

Over a 20-year period, the city expects $13.3 million in total savings, lowering the net project cost to $4.6 million.

Annual savings are estimated at $2.8 million, with notable energy reductions at each site: 17% at Baer, 50% at Pendora, 44% at Keffer and 28% at Schlegel.

At Schlegel Park, Ayers Fisher described the transformation of the once oil-heated building into a fully electrified, energy-efficient facility.

“No more window (air-conditioning) units that were older than my children and cost about $3,500 a month to operate in the summertime,” she said.

The upgrades included exterior insulation, ceiling vapor sealing to prevent condensation, epoxy flooring and a new electric service that also supports the pool and sewer pumps nearby.

Though the Schlegel Park building is open again for community rentals, final touches, including painting, restoration of its barn-style signage and additional park lighting, are still in progress, she said.

Ayers Fisher said the city plans to apply lessons from this project to future upgrades of public buildings.

“We would like to continue to do this, focusing on the libraries and the firehouses next,” she said.

The project, she said, supports Reading’s broader goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2050, reducing its carbon footprint and increasing operational efficiency across city facilities.

The work also reflects a commitment to preserving the city’s historic assets.

The Baer and Pendora fieldhouses, built in 1938 using brownstone salvaged from the old county jail in City Park, and the 1941 Schlegel Park barn-turned-fieldhouse were completed in conjunction with the Works Progress Administration, a Great Depression-era government program that employed millions in public works projects.

The Keffer Park fieldhouse was built in 1966 with the city and Keffer Playground Association equally sharing the cost.

Now upgraded, the fieldhouses will better serve the community while reducing environmental impact, Ayers Fisher said.

“The project has been a good partnership,” she said. “It’s been a good project and it’s been my pleasure to work with everybody.”

The final open house in the series will be held Oct. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Keffer Park, 301 Exeter St.