• Subscribe
  • E-Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Login
Community Rec
  • Topics
    • Community
    • Facility Development
    • Programming
    • Operations
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • E-Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
    • Community Rec Leadership Summit
    • Webinars
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Community
    • Facility Development
    • Programming
    • Operations
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • E-Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
    • Community Rec Leadership Summit
    • Webinars
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
Community Rec
No Result
View All Result
Home News

An Inside Look at the Cornerstone Aquatics Center Renovation

Brittany Howard by Brittany Howard
January 10, 2019
in News
0
An Inside Look at the Cornerstone Aquatics Center Renovation

Photo courtesy of Cornerstone Aquatics Center.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When HealthFitness began managing Cornerstone Aquatics Center in West Hartford, Connecticut, a year and a half ago, it had one gym with 20 pieces of exercise equipment and a small multi-purpose room that overlooked the pool.

General manager Michael Kerrigan noticed the potential in the space and began developing goals for the aquatics center. “Early on, my goal was, what can I do to refresh?” he recalled asking. “All the equipment was all so old. How do we refresh all this equipment so we can become, in addition to an aquatics center, a gym the community is going to want to come to?”

In response to his question, Kerrigan decided they needed to do something with the multi-purpose room. He wanted to offer more than just treadmills and instead, begin offering group classes such as yoga, spinning and personal training. This led to the complete replacement of all fitness equipment, a redesign of their multi-purpose room to a group exercise studio, and four new family changing rooms, as well as a front lobby remodel.

“We put in new wood fitness flooring, which was a start, then HealthFitness partnered with Technogym, a nationally recognized gym equipment manufacturer,” said Kerrigan. With the partnership, they were able to put together a large donation and cover the cost of the new equipment.

Another large contribution to the renovation was the upgrade to four new family changing rooms. The aquatics center previously had two locker rooms: one male and one female with a small, single-person changing room and bathroom. “On Saturdays when we would have swimming lessons, there would be a line of 20 to 30 people waiting to use that one room,” said Kerrigan.

He pointed out a large space on the pool deck that wasn’t being used, and this became the new home of their family changing rooms. Kerrigan’s goal was to meet the community’s needs. “To have a space where a father could bring a daughter into a changing room — there was a huge need for that, as well as for someone with any kind of disability,” he said. “We really needed this space to meet that need in the community.”

With any renovation project comes a unique set of challenges, and the aquatic center was no exception. While there were no major setbacks or closing of the facility required, the renovation did require patience from its community members. “It took a while, and the location of the renovation made it difficult at times for the members to get in and out of the facility,” said Kerrigan.

Despite having to tolerate the renovations for six months through jackhammers and dust, Kerrigan said the overall feedback since completion has been “very, very positive.”

Being able to renovate and adapt for the community’s needs has opened multiple doors for Cornerstone Aquatics Center. Not only were they able to meet needs by providing new family changing rooms, but they have also been able to offer new group fitness classes and are seeing growth in class attendance.

“We actually are starting to look at how we can offer just the gym membership, because right now we’re an aquatics center, so our memberships are for the whole facility,” said Kerrigan. “But [there is] definite growth because there are classes that first of all, we didn’t offer in the past, and now we’re offering them and filling them.”

When asked what his advice on renovations is, Kerrigan focused on communication. “Communicate realistic timelines on completion of projects,” he said. “Folks from the community want to know, ‘when’s this thing going to be done?’”

Along with communicating realistic timelines, Kerrigan also believes it’s important to promote yourself, and explain the reasons for why you’re doing what you’re doing. “Educate the community,” he advised.

Tags: aquaticscommunitycommunity engagementcommunity recreationCornerstone Aquatics CenterFamilyFeaturedHealthFitnessTechnogym
Previous Post

Maintaining the Member Experience Through the New Year Rush — Part 1

Next Post

Maintaining the Member Experience Through the New Year Rush — Part 2

Brittany Howard

Brittany Howard

Brittany is the editor of Community Rec Magazine. Reach her at brittany@peakemedia.com.

Related Posts

YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg
Facility Development

YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg Opening Campus With Middle School

September 19, 2023
Staunton-Augusta YMCA
Facility Development

Staunton-Augusta YMCA Breaks Ground on New Site

August 28, 2023
Peloton
Community Development

Peloton Partnership Assists Community Health at YMCA of Metro Chicago

August 21, 2023
John Reecer
News

Community Rec Magazine Names John Reecer as Next Editor

August 7, 2023
Daxko
News

Daxko and Treo Wellness Partnership Delivers Full-Service Well-being

August 2, 2023
Partnership
News

YMCA of Metro Dallas Starts Partnership with Scottish Rite

July 31, 2023
Next Post
members

Maintaining the Member Experience Through the New Year Rush — Part 2

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Exposure Guide + Media Kit

July/August 2023 Issue

July/August Issue
Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn

Contact us at info@communityrecmag.com

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • E-Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us

The Current Issue

September/October 2023

The Latest from CO

  • Three Methods to Ensure Success When Evaluating Trends
  • YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg Opening Campus With Middle School
  • Mastering Employee Onboarding
  • YMCA of Greater Brandywine Offers Suicide Prevention Training

© 2023 Community Rec Magazine. Published by Peake Media.

No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Community
    • Facility Development
    • Programming
    • Operations
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • E-Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
    • Community Rec Leadership Summit
    • Webinars
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Buyer’s Guide

© 2023 Community Rec Magazine. Published by Peake Media.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist