COEUR d'ALENE - After 15 years of planning, Jon Totten said having approval for a student- and staff-funded North Idaho College recreation center is "borderline surreal."

"It feels really good to accomplish something like this," Totten, the center's advisory board chairman, said on Thursday. "People are buzzing on campus."

The North Idaho College board approved the $7.7 million, 30,000-square-foot center, which will be built where the tennis courts are on the Coeur d'Alene campus. It will be funded by student fees and staff memberships.

Totten said the goal was to have the center open in fall of 2017, but that timeline was based on the board approving the proposal three months ago. The board approved the center on Wednesday night in Sandpoint on a 4-0 vote with Todd Banducci abstaining.

"We're adjusting the timeline (on when to open) now," he said.

Construction on the rec center will likely start next spring, Totten said. He estimates it will take a year to 18 months to build the facility.

The design includes a gymnasium, climbing wall, open recreation space, a weight area, multi-activity court, locker rooms, offices, storage, a laundry room and an indoor walk/run track on the second story.

Project proponents say the rec center is needed because NIC's indoor recreation program currently shares Christianson Gym with the athletics department, utilizes the climbing wall at the Kroc Center and has a small weight area in Winton Hall.

The student fees to fund the center will start to be collected this fall. The fees will be $37 per semester for the first year and $87 per semester during the years after that until 2022 when the amount will be re-evaluated.

"It won't be going up (after 2022)," said Totten, adding that the student body as a whole had approved spending as much as $100 per semester on the project.

All full-time students, regardless of where they attend NIC classes in the region, will be charged the fee. The fee will be pro-rated for part-time students.

NIC faculty and staff will also have the option of using the center for a fee to be determined but higher than what students will pay, Totten said.

Total debt service with a 30-year maturity on the revenue bonds is estimated at $14.5 million. The Dorm Housing Commission, which will work on bonds, will meet on May 5 to consider the proposal. The three-member group has been supportive of the project thus far.