Five Points opens new fitness addition

Five Points Washington’s new $1.8 million fitness addition opens Saturday.

And not a moment too soon.

After years of holding group fitness classes in just about every available space in the multipurpose facility — including banquet rooms, the Caterpillar Performing Arts Center and gymnasium — the fitness staff now has a place to call home.

The two-story, 10,000-square-foot addition to the north end of the complex has a large room downstairs that can be divided with a curtain and two smaller rooms upstairs.

The only group fitness class that won’t be held in the addition is Les Mills RPM (indoor cycling), which has its own room.

Five Points’ fitness center has more than 7,000 members. The original goal was 3,000 members.

“After we opened (in 2007), it became quickly evident that we didn’t have enough room for our group fitness classes,” Five Points General Manager Vikki Poorman said Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the addition.

The gymnasium was a particularly bad place for classes, Poorman said, “because the acoustics were terrible. People couldn’t hear their instructor.”

Groundbreaking for the addition was held in August.

Three months later, three precast concrete panels were destroyed by the Nov. 17 tornado and construction was delayed a few weeks.

But the addition, built by Peoria-based P.J. Hoerr, is opening slightly ahead of schedule.

Funding for the construction of the addition came from Five Points operating revenues ($1.3 million) and private donations ($500,000) to a 555 fundraising campaign launched in 2012 as part of Five Points’ five-year anniversary.

Greg Folley, Caterpillar Inc. vice president and chair of the 555 campaign, said the completion of the addition is an example of how Washington is coming back strong from a “hard hit to its solar plexus.”

Five Points board President Sherril West said the addition was built on time and on budget.

“Now all three of our projects have been on time and on budget,” she said.

The other projects are the original building and a parking lot constructed in 2010 just south of the facility.

West said a planned project to enhance Five Points’ south entrance for the banquet rooms and Performing Arts Center has been put on hold by the board of directors.

She said about $180,000 in donations have been received for the estimated $400,000 project, which will be financed entirely by donations because it won’t generate revenue.

“After the tornado, we didn’t think we should continue fundraising for the entrance,” she said.