New exercise room will open in HRS rooftop lounge

The rooftop lounge will accommodate cardiovascular workout equipment and space for aerobic exercise. Superblock residents will soon be able to burn calories closer to home, as the University finalizes plans for a new High Rise South fitness center scheduled to open in 1998. The student-run Committee for Tangible Change and the Residential Advisory Board requested exercise facilities located on the west side of campus last year. Students polled by both groups had indicated that the current facilities in Hutchinson Gymnasium are inconveniently located. A final blueprint for the center, which will be located in the High Rise South Rooftop Lounge, will be completed within the next two weeks, according to Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta. The blueprint will then be presented to RAB and circulated for discussion. Moneta said half of the center will contain cardiovascular workout equipment, although administrators working on the project are still deciding between two options for the rest of the space. If the group adopts the suggestion of Recreation Director Mike Diorka, the space will contain a Reebok Spinning Center --Ea new aerobic workout using bicycles. Otherwise, the area will be used for basic aerobic space. Moneta said he does not know what the project will cost, but insisted that money has already been set aside for the center. While some students expressed doubts that the center would open before they graduated, Chris Dennis, director of academic programs in residence, insisted the project is moving forward. "In the scheme of things this will be at our front and center," Dennis said. "It's coming, it's exciting, we are trying to be responsive to the RAB folks." The exact timeframe for the project depends on how much construction is required to transform the lounge into a gym. Air quality and electrical systems may have to be improved, and the lounge floor will probably require reinforcement to block noise and prevent structural damage. Students on the 24th floor of High Rise South, directly below the future fitness center site, expressed cautious optimism about the project. "I think it's good as long as the weights don't fall through the ceiling, but the elevators are going to experience a major slowdown," Wharton and Engineering senior Anurag Goel said. And other residents were upset about the loss of their lounge, since the project will occupy nearly all the available space. But University City Nautilus Manager Bob Stern was the most upset by the development, explaining the center will compete with his gym. "It's kind of unfair competition because we pay taxes and rent and we have to buy our own equipment -- we're not tax supported in any way," Stern said. University City Nautilus, which is located at 40th and Locust streets, has no immediate plans to counter University competition, but Stern said Nautilus will survive the opening of the High Rise South fitness center. "If they do it, I think we'll survive because we can run a business and maybe they can't run a fitness center," he said.