PLATTSBURGH — In this case, bigger is better, in more ways than one.
Adirondack Coast Athletic Complex is billing itself as the area’s premier facility for team and individual sport specific training in power, strength and speed, as well as injury prevention.
Owners Keith Provost and Michelle Mosher just opened the 37,000-square-foot facility at 5 Latour Ave. on Saturday in a large building directly behind McSweeneys on Route 9 in the north end of Plattsburgh.
The site is the new home for the Powerhouse Gym franchise in Plattsburgh, as well as Dr. Jon Mulholland and Ideal Athlete Chiropractic, Brian Giebel of the Strength Bank and an office for the Plattsburgh Football Club, the local youth soccer program.
“You’ve got a fully equipped athletic training center with a day care, a doctor on board and other trainers,” Mosher said.
“This will allow a multitude of sports athletes to be trained here. You really don’t understand how big it is until you get in here.”
FILLS NEED
Provost said they were told in December they needed to find a new home for Powerhouse Gym, which had been in Plattsburgh Plaza since 2014.
That initially left them scrambling, but now has them on the brink of realizing a dream for serving the community they call home.
The area is drastically lacking in places for athletes to train, especially youth athletes, Provost said. Local athletes may have the physical capability and desire but have lacked a place to hone develop the skills and receive the physical care and instruction they need to succeed at the highest levels.
“There would be nothing more rewarding to us than to see a couple Division 1 college scholarships come out of here, to know that child trained here and we had a part in that,” Provost said.
“That’s the driving force with what we want to do here.”
MORE THAN DOUBLED SIZE
Others have seen the potential, as evidenced by the businesses that have moved in.
“When people started getting word of this place, they came to us, because they see it — they see the same vision,” Provost said.
At 37,000 square feet, the Adirondack Coast Athletic Complex is more than double the size of their previous location. With the additional space comes a number of new training and workout opportunities, as well as the fully equipped Powerhouse Gym.
The entrance and membership desk is on the north side of the building. Mosher said the first thing people will see is a fully stocked supplement store.
Across the hall is a 40-by-30-foot fitness room, which independent instructors can rent to hold classes.
PLAY CENTER
Around the corner is a play center for children, open from 8 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8 p.m. during the week.
Parents can bring their children along when they go to work out, secure in the knowledge they will have a safe place to play.
“That’s a big deal,” Mosher said. “People have asked us to offer it during the afternoon as well.”
Offices are across from the cavernous gym. Mosher did the artwork on the 90-foot graffiti-style mural wall inside. That alone took about 300 hours, she said.
The gym features a shake bar, for pre- and post-workout nutritional drinks and protein shakes.
“We sell a ton of those in the supplement store,” Mosher said.
EQUIPMENT
A turf-covered weight-sled track provides workouts that involve pulling or pushing weighted sleds the length of the space. They were very popular at the old gym, Mosher said.
The centerpiece is the fully equipped Powerhouse Gym, with more than 80 pieces of selectorized workout equipment, 16,000 pounds of free weights and a wide variety of cardio machines.
One corner is dedicated to power lifters, with professional-grade equipment, such as a mono-lift competition-type squat rack, Provost said.
It is hydraulically adjusted, so the user doesn’t have to walk back and forth to move the weight on and off the rack, a common cause of injury.
The new site includes a boxing ring, sparring equipment and training bags. It can be used for boxing, wrestling and mixed-martial-arts instruction and training, Provost said, and will probably also host some self-defense classes.
They are pleased that Plattsburgh Combat Sports has made the move to the new gym, he said.
Provost said another important addition is the dual indoor batting cages, complete with professional JUGS pitching machines and a pitching mound. They will be set up year round, to cater to ball players who want to train during the harsh North Country winter.
The 3,000-square-foot functional training area is equipped with a full range of accessories to allow users to target a range of muscles in their workout movements rather than one specific muscle area as in machine-based exercise. The workouts are intended to help with movements the users might perform in their everyday lives.
It will be about a month before the turf is ready for the indoor 100-by-50-foot, arena-style playing field that is intended primarily for soccer training and youth games.
The sheer size of the space will allow for multiple classes at one time, which Provost said is a key for making money in the gym business
“We have the capability of conducting seven classes per hour, hour after hour after hour,” he said.
The gym area has a cool, industrial feel to it, Provost said, augmented by five large overhead doors that will be opened when the weather permits.
MEMBERSHIPS
Memberships start at $35 a month, with a $10 annual membership fee.
Yearly locker rentals are $5 a month or $50 a year.
The new locker rooms include large shower stalls, plus two shower/changing areas where users can freshen up after a workout out of sight of other members.
Additional lockers are spread throughout the facility, several close to certain areas for those who want to use only one specific type of workout or training.
Indoor tanning is also available.
DREAM CONTRIBUTORS
When their previous landlord said they had to move, “it was, basically, close the doors or jump on a dream,” Provost said.
“We jumped on a dream.”
They were able to do so thanks to a couple key contributors.
The site became available because of his relationship with Joe Akey and his family, who brought the property to their attention.
When they saw the vast space, Provost and Mosher used their years of gym experience to visualize how everything would fit.
Financing for the project came from Provost’s parents, Ken and Gloria Provost.
“At the end of the day, if it wasn’t for Joe Akey and the Akey family and my mom and dad, this just wouldn’t be possible,” Provost said.
They also expressed gratitude to John Bushey Construction, Poirier’s True Value, Taylor Rental and Bob’s Instant Plumbing, as well as a number of family members and volunteers who provided their time and expertise to help get everything ready.
As they worked toward a new beginning, the partners funded an agreement for members to use the City of Plattsburgh Recreation Center. They appreciated City Recreation Director Steve Peters reaching out to them and the city for allowing it to take place.
Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman said Provost and Mosher have done a phenomenal job in working to turn their dreams into a reality.
“It excites me to see such a complex being developed here in the North Country and capturing the branding of the Adirondack Coast,” he said.
“This is truly a one-of-a kind complex for this area.”
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