A new fitness centre backed by a big name opens Thursday and will give Maple Ridge’s Leisure Centre some competition.
People will start sweating and groaning in Club 16, Trevor Linden Fitness when it opens Thursday in what used to be the public library on Dewdney Trunk Road.
The 20,000-square-foot club, with more than 100 cardio machines, is just a stone’s throw from the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre in Memorial Peace Park.
District of Maple Ridge staff, though, are not planning any changes soon, says parks and recreation services general manager Kelly Swift.
“What we’re doing right now is monitoring what will be happening.
“They’re certainly a welcome addition to the community.”
Swift said the department knows there is some pent-up demand for such a facility and sees it as complementary to the Leisure Centre’s gym.
“We’re just over 2,800 members already,” said Linden’s business partner, Chuck Lawson.
“It’s a real mix of people. Our big push is that. We purposely try to cater to everyone.”
For instance, the gym only has dumbbells up to 90 pounds and uses equipment that’s most popular.
“We have the stuff that the bulk of people want to have.”
Many people just want a cardio workout, which is why treadmill machines are the most popular.
Elliptical and stationary bikes are the two next popular.
Despite controversy in downtown Vancouver with the closing of the women’s section of Steve Nash Fitness World, Lawson said She’s Fit will be part of the new facility, offering a women-only section apart from the main gym.
“We’re going strong and every one of our She’s Fit locations is a profitable entity with lots of members.”
Club 16 users will have access to 105 parking spots in the back of the building, as well as the district parking beneath the civic centre.
The district’s 5,000-sq.-foot fitness facility is located above the Leisure Centre pool and combines a weight-lifting area with cardio machines and stationary cycling machines. It’s been upgraded over the past two years and includes treadmills, arc trainers, recumbent cycles, and weight lifting machines for a total of about 40 pieces of fitness equipment, many designed for those with physical challenges.
Swift said the pool, gymnasium and fitness centre at the Leisure Centre draw between 1,000 and 1,200 people a day, many who’ve been using the centre for years. Currently, about 8,000 people have memberships at the Leisure Centre.
The fitness centre generates a “healthy revenue” stream for the district. On average, the entire Leisure Centre brings in $75,000 a month in membership and admission sales.
“There’s a strong sense of ownership there.”
Club 16 is the major part of the renovation to the 47,000-sq.-foot building now called the Spire Professional Centre, with renovated offices on the second and third floors.
New metal, cedar and cement-board siding has been installed on the outside walls, while the parking lot facing Memorial Peace Park has been restored, and the waist-high walls separating the facility from the park have been removed.
