The 75,000 square feet facility will feature a gymnasium with two basketball courts, racquetball courts, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a massage therapist room, a parent-child area, and a family workout area. The new centre will also include a Health and Wellness Center for personal counseling on healthy eating habits, tobacco use and other lifestyle issues. The building is also equipped to handle Category 3 hurricane winds, which is considered as important for this hurricane-prone base.
The new fitness centre has $500,000 worth new equipment and is more than three times larger than the base’s old fitness centre. The facility is built to achieve US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. It features an energy-efficient roof system, solar panels, geothermal heat pumps and has used renewable building materials found within a 500-mile radius.
Brig. Gen. James Browne, 325th Fighter Wing Commander, said that the new fitness center would consume 40% less energy and water than a similar-sized building without similar features. The reduced consumption will result in an estimated annual savings of $45,000.
A pair of display panels, called an ‘energy dashboard’ near the fitness centre’s entrance will show visitors how the facility’s construction had helped the environment and increased energy efficiency. It will also show solar energy, electric, water and gas use at the facility.
If the fitness centre receives LEED certification, it will become the first building in the Air Force to earn that recognition. Construction on the new fitness center began in October 2008.
