After years of student lobbying to expand the Kresge Fitness Center, the Board of Trustees earmarked funds for the project at its last meeting and the Athletics Department has begun planning for the renovation of the second floor of Alumni Gymnasium to accommodate the new fitness center.
The current center will move upstairs to a space at least double its size, while the intramural, club and physical education activities that currently use the space will be relocated downstairs and to other locations, Associate Director of Athletics Roger Demment said.
"Obviously one of the major objectives here is to provide a new and improved fitness center that is much larger than the one we have and contains much more equipment than the current one, and at the same time, be able to provide for all the programs we currently offer," Demment said.
The project is still in its early stages, however, as athletics officials continue to work with architects to develop plans for renovation.
"We've been in talks with the architects. We've looked at some conceptual drawings and basically put forth our list of needs, and they're trying to come up with solutions for those needs," Demment said.
Demment could not comment on a specific timetable or price tag for the project until the architects finish their study.
"We won't have a fixed price tag until the actual design is completed ... we certainly don't have a fixed date," he said.
Although proposals to move the fitness center upstairs and double its size have been part of the Kresge expansion discussion before, College President James Wright and the Board of Trustees decided to allocate funds now in response to student demand.
"The expanded fitness facility is in response to student requests, which we felt should be met sooner rather than later," Wright said.
Student Body President Julia Hildreth '05 said she was excited that the administration responded to the Student Assembly's aggressive gym expansion campaign last year.
"One of the main pushes of last year's assembly was to emphasize how much students wanted gym expansion ... we're really excited that the student input made a difference," Hildreth said.
Still, Hildreth estimated that the process of renovating the upstairs of the gym would not start until next spring or summer and would not end until the following fall or winter, leaving many current students out of luck.
To make sure students see short-term improvements, the Assembly has already purchased two new elliptical machines, a new treadmill and new free weights for the current fitness center, and they are considering the possibility of placing additional machines in a "satellite" location outside the gym.
"We are determined to make sure that the students who are here now reap the benefits," Hildreth said, adding that the assembly would elicit student input as to what changes they would like to see before the fitness center's expansion is completed.
Demment also expressed excitement about the prospect of having a larger, more adequate fitness center at the College.
"All I know is that we are moving ahead with the building of a new fitness center, and I'm very excited about that because obviously the one we have now is too small and not well equipped enough," Demment said.
