New London ― After months of site preparation, the footprint of the city’s $40 million community center took shape Monday morning as crews poured tons of concrete to create the floors of the facility’s programming and gym spaces.

Over the course of the day, roughly 50 cement trucks delivered loads to the Fort Trumbull property where the material was discharged onto wire-gridded sections of ground.

“This is a big day,” said Andrew Anton, project superintendent for the Downes Construction Co., which is overseeing the work. “This lets a lot of other work take off, including the block and steel structural work.”

Members of the concrete team performed a busy ballet on Monday with one worker directing a gray stream of hose-fed concrete onto slab outlines while others waded into the ankle-deep slurry to tamp it down. Finishing crews wielding trowels and blades came up from behind them to smooth the viscous layer.

The day’s action was largely centered on the southern portions of the 58,000-square-foot center, which will include the gym, recreation office and classroom spaces, a community lounge and a kitchen.

Several feet away, more jets of concrete encased water pipes laid into a deep pit that will eventually become the pool.

Work at the site began in July, six months after the original start date. City officials said the delay was largely due to waiting for state permits, which required crews to conduct site exploration and clearing work during the winter.

City Office of Planning and Development Director Felix Reyes said the project is still set for a summer 2025 opening and is within budget. He said the site prep work at the former Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory property proved challenging.

“There were a lot of unforeseen geotechnical issues, specifically regarding the old building foundations that were still under the ground that were never removed,” Reyes said. “We initially had to guess what was there based on what historical documents were available. But now that we’re out of the ground, we’re going to see progress at a different speed.”

Anton said cinder blocks that will become part of the center’s interior walls are set to be delivered this week. He said steel framing and roof work will follow with construction planned to be complete by late summer.

Mayor Michael Passero praised the project’s progress as excavators continued their digging and filling work not far from the coastal ramparts of Fort Trumbull.

“I’ve been living with this project for 12 years and trying to make it happen,” he said. “This is a major step forward.”

j.penney@theday.com