A $2.3 million construction project to renovate the Greenwood Community Center, adding an indoor kids play area and upgrading the exercise area and equipment, is nearly complete, and now the city is looking at what changes should be made when the center reopens.
One feature that won’t change: how much families pay to be members of the center. A family of five with two parents and three children under the age of 16 still would pay $350 for an annual membership.
But other changes are coming, including to the hours the center is open, amenities offered to families and when members can come in to work out when the center reopens in January. The Greenwood Park and Recreation Board unanimously approved the new hours, rates and fees this week.
Parks and recreation director Rob Taggart used the renovations as an opportunity to examine the community center schedule, and proposed adding hours primarily in the evenings and weekends.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe biggest change is how late the facilities will be open. The gym will now be open until 10 p.m. on weekdays, an increase from times of 7 to 8 p.m. before. Before making the change, Taggart spent time looking at how similar facilities in other communities are managed.
"We’ve used some very good resources; 10 o’clock holds up," Taggart said. "But that is one of those things that once we get into, and we see our traffic flow isn’t very good, we’ll adjust accordingly."
Weekend times will also be expanded. The community center will also be open year-round on Sundays. Previously it was closed on Sundays during the summer months.
The facility will also be easier to access. Members will have key fobs they can use to get into the the gym through a door on the east side, without having to check in at a front desk, Taggart said. The key fobs make access to the facility easier for members and will also save on staff time, he said.
Staff are also working to setup a children’s program which parents could drop their kids off in while they go to work out, Taggart said.
Having a child-friendly environment would be a draw for families, officials said. The program would not be considered daycare and would be limited to kids that are toilet-trained, he said.
An opening day hasn’t been determined yet, but renovations should be complete by the end of the year. An opening date will likely be set by the beginning of December, project manager John Shell said.
Walls are finished and ready to be painted. Lighting has been setup. Flooring work will begin later this month, he said.
"You get a feel for what the building will look like," Shell said. "The thing that is missing is the color and the architectural elements that will really make it complete."
People who had memberships prior to the beginning of the renovations in April will have their memberships extended for whatever time was unused due to the closure for construction, Taggart said.
The membership rates now include a discount for current military service members and veterans, who would be able to pay the same rate as the senior discount.
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Here are the proposed hours for the Greenwood Community Center once it re-opens next year.
The Gym
Monday though Friday: 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Kid City
Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday through Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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