Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus probably best expressed the thoughts of all those walkers, gawkers, and talkers who flocked to last week’s dedication of the $9 million Community and Event Center REC Teen Center at the north end of Les Gove Park.

A “kick-ass” place, she called it.

That it is.

The complex consolidates the Auburn Senior Activities Center, the multi-generational gymnasium, an area for teens and youth and a central gathering place for the entire community. And from the lobby gathering space and the major social hall, the ceiling-to-floor windows gobsmack with their view into Les Gove Park.

Designed by ARC Architects and built by Pease Construction Inc., it offers spaces to encourage cross-generational and cross-cultural interactions with the aforementioned buildings hard by.

City Councilman Rich Wagner was all smiles. He championed a community center in and out of the many shapes the idea took over 40 years as a means to bring people together.

“Bringing it all together here with all those other facilities really promotes that diversity thing that’s been driving me all those years,” Wagner said.

Within the community center’s 13,700 square feet are three divisible rooms for public and private events, classes, meetings, and celebrations, a classroom-meeting room, a fitness room with cardio and resistance machines, storage areas, and the administrative offices of Auburn’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Department.

“The way we organized the outside of the building, we’ve actually created kind of a monumental, park-scale edge that faces the park. So when you are in the park and looking in, especially at night, you’ll be able to see all the activities going on,” said Stan Lokting, principal of ARC Architects.

To realize the 7,300-square-foot REC Teen Center, the City remodeled the Parks, Recreation and Arts Administration Building to create an informal gathering space for games and socializing and structured programs like performances.

Inside the Makers Space, teens may use art, technology, science and culture to innovate, learn and build community.

There’s a small classroom for programs and drop-in childcare for those who are exercising, taking a class or attending a meeting, a computer lab for homework, SAT prep, job preparation, videography and music Youth/Teen Center staff offices.

There’s even a separate entry and reception area for when the facility is open as a Teen Center. Shared spaces include a lobby, teaching/catering kitchen and outdoor terraces.

The taxpayers of Washington state provided $3 million through the Projects that Strengthen Youth and Families Program, and the City contributed $6 million. The budget covered construction and other costs like architects and engineers, permits, furniture and equipment and sales tax.

“It’s a great day to be living in Auburn because this is a thing we’ve needed for a long time, and now we’ve got it,” Wagner said. “It’s state of the art, it’s practical, it’s affordable, it’s open, and we’re going to have lots of time for people to use it. And there couldn’t be a better location. That’s one of the things I really like about this location on the north end as opposed to the south end, it just really encompasses the whole community campus look.”

Parks, Arts & Rec is overseeing operations, including rental opportunities. In the fall, the center plans to offer expanded educational, fitness and recreational programs for all ages and a monthly and yearly pass for the fitness room.

Hours are 6:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.