By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The New Jersey Athletic Club — formerly known as Gold’s Gym — is expected to reopen some time in the next few days after a fire was intentionally set in a back office room at the Quakerbridge Road facility over the weekend.
The attempted arson occurred sometime overnight, between Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, said police Lt. Joseph Amodio. An employee, who reported for work at 5:50 a.m. Aug. 23, heard an alarm and saw water coming from the ceiling.
The employee initially thought a pipe had broken, and contacted a plumber, Lt. Amodio said. It was at that point that the attempted arson was discovered. The fire set off the sprinkler system, which doused the fire.
When Lawrence Township Fire Marshal Dale Robbins and Fire Inspector Richard Soltis were called to investigate, they found evidence of an accelerant. The investigation was turned over to Lawrence police detectives Todd Caruso and David Dalle Pazze, and Michael Fiabane of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
In a message posted on its web site, www.njac.com, New Jersey Athletic Club owner and president Ed McNeill wrote that the facility experienced a small fire and flooding on the first floor, due to the sprinkler system extinguishing the fire.
The sprinklers caused damage to the walls and floors on the first floor, as well as damage to some of the equipment. The staff has been working with Lawrence Township, the club’s insurance company, vendors and contractors to clean up and find the best plan of action to reopen the club, Mr. McNeill wrote.
"It is our intention to reopen the club in the next few days, pending approvals of the fire marshal and other required building inspections," he wrote. "Please understand that the safety of our members and staff is our primary concern, so the facility must be able to be safely operated before we can open our doors again."
Regarding the future expansion of the building, "we are working closely with our architect, general contractor and township officials to finalize building permits," Mr. McNeill wrote. "The restoration of the facility will not in any way hinder our new construction schedule."
Formerly known as Gold’s Gym, the facility was renamed the New Jersey Athletic Club earlier this year. The owner of the former Gold’s Gym gained Lawrence Township Planning Board approval in May 2013 for a two-story, 19,559-square-foot addition to the 66,560-square-foot building at 4152 Quakerbridge Road.
The addition will contain a gymnasium for basketball, gymnastics and cheerleading. The second floor — part of which will be open to the gymnasium below — will be set up for a running track, a stretching station and cardio machines.
Gold’s Gym, which opened in 2004, focused on adult fitness activities. But the plan for the renamed fitness center is to expand to include programming and facilities for the entire family, including adolescents, according to testimony presented at the Planning Board meeting.
