$22M BREC fitness center is open to the community
MIDDLETOWN — Brookdale Community College’s new Recreation and Events Center (BREC) will reduce conflicts for campus recreation space and provide a new fitness center.
Frank Lawrence, the director of athletics, recreation and fitness at Brookdale Community College, said the $22 million project which was dedicated on Nov. 30 will allow for simultaneous events to be held in the BREC and in the college’s Collins Arena.
BREC “provides more recreational space so that the arena is freed up as more traditional event space,” he said.
Previously, the Collins Arena was the only recreational space on campus and it served several purposes.
“It was the only space we had, so we were using it for intramural sports, recreation, classes, and our own athletic events, plus outside community events,” Lawrence said. “It was very limiting in terms of what we were able to provide both to our students and to the community.”
Lawrence said the new 15,000-squarefoot BREC will ease what he called a balancing act of organizing uses, including High Tech High School’s physical education classes.
High Tech High School is housed on the Brookdale campus.
“That (the high school’s physical education classes) was 20 hours a week of programming where (the arena) was closed off from our students,” Lawrence said.
One of the project’s objectives, he said, was to allow for multiple, simultaneous uses at BREC and at Collins Arena.
“What we were trying to do is provide increased access for everybody. Whereas we were constantly saying no to a lot of people, now we can say yes to a lot more people,” he said.
The project also includes a new 9,000- square-foot fitness center, which is a much-needed addition, Lawrence said.
“We have always had a fitness center on campus, but it was always in a less than ideal setting,” he said. “The new space was designed very specifically for fitness and so it is very open with lots of windows and natural light and a floor that is designed for fitness centers.”
He said the fitness center also has a new locker room and a group exercise room which will provide fitness programming such as yoga, Pilates and dance classes.
Community members can join the fitness center for $285 for a full-year membership, Lawrence said.
“We have always had a significant number of community members and we are hoping to increase that,” he said.
The project’s second phase includes major renovations to the Collins Arena, which are currently under way.
“Basically, the only thing left standing are the exterior walls and the dome; everything internal (in the arena) has been gutted,” Lawrence said.
Upgrades at the Collins Arena will include new heating, air conditioning, restrooms, locker rooms, flooring, lighting, concession stand, bleachers and elevators.
Lawrence said he expects the renovations to be completed in January.