Richmond Heights Parks and Recreation Director Teresa Proebsting gave an update Monday night on the planned renovations at The Heights.
The pool is set to close in March 2019 for six months to be totally rebuilt. The new pool will have four 7-foot wide lanes in addition to the open swim area and lazy river. Proebsting said she’s still working on an alternative pool for the months when the Maplewood Aquatic Center is closed.
The east court will become a fitness room and the area above it will be an open 3,200 square foot fitness area.
The balconies off the fitness room and the library will be enclosed with glass.
The work for the fitness area and library will go into 2020. Both will remain open during the work.
I am wondering if the possibility of separate steam room or sauna for males and females was ever considered. The times I have tried to use the steam room it was over taken by men and no one followed the rules as in what was worn and brought in to the space. No monitoring what so ever. It was rather gross.I did write that down and submit as a suggestion a few times. most gyms I have belonged to have a separate space for females ,sometimes within the locker room.
I hope The Heights will focus on enclosed rooms for fitness as opposed to rentals. At least one enclosed room needs to be sizeable for space-needy classes such as Nia, Zumba, and Pump. Room floors need to be wooden for ease of movement and cleanliness. (No carpet, please.) A longer mirror would be ideal for a large room. Enclosed rooms enhance intimacy and make it easier to hear and follow the instructor.
The Brentwood Recreation Complex, only 6-8 minutes from The Heights, has nice, sizeable rooms for meetings/gatherings (one with a great kitchen). These could be utilized more for the largest group fitness classes.
There is currently only A SINGLE TOILET IN THE UPSTAIRS FITNESS AREA! Finding an open locker upstairs in winter can be hard. I hope these things have been addressed.
I was disappointed that so much money is going into the pool. A lot of work went into fixing the inside of it about a year ago. So much space in the fitness center is devoted to pool facilities. Is it necessary to devote more?
Will there still be a children’s pool area?