Kalamazoo College breaks ground on new fitness center

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, October 1, 2015

Courtesy Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College has broken ground on a 30,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center.

In a Sept. 24 ceremony at the building site the college celebrated the beginning of the construction of the center that is expected to cost $9 million. The building is fully funded from the recently completed Campaign for Kalamazoo College that raised $129 million, a record for the school.

The center, will be "a common space in which the entire campus community--faculty, staff, students, and retirees--can develop healthy lifestyles through participation in fitness and wellness programs," says K College President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran.

The college asked for financial support for the fitness and wellness center based on the consideration that nearly half the student body is involved in intercollegiate or intramural sports; there are many student organizations that focus on the body and movement such as Frelon, Cirque du K, the Badminton club, K-Cheer, and a wide variety of physical education courses including various forms of dance,martial arts, fencing, and circus arts.

Previously, the campus fitness facilities consisted of a 2,500-square-foot weight room for students; and a 600-square-foot converted squash court housing exercise equipment for faculty and staff.

The 30,000-square-foot, two-story center will have:

• a weight room and cardio fitness area of sufficient capacity to meet the needs of all students and employees;

• five multi-purpose rooms, as flexible in function as the liberal arts to which they are dedicated;

• two racquetball courts;

• expanded lockers for both the Hornet tennis teams and for general use; and

• an office and health assessment room for the campus wellness director.

The building also has many sustainability features.

"Our building is designed and will be constructed to the high standards of energy efficiency and resource conservation explicit in a LEED silver rating," says Wilson-Oyelaran. “And our efforts in this area will be audited by two students who have been hired and trained in LEED certification."

She adds that the center reflects the college’s liberal arts mission. "We focus on the whole student; we focus on the balance of mind, spirit and body."

Source: Kalamazoo College