Newton rec centre to undergo $5 million expansion

NEWTON — The Newton rec centre is about to undergo a $5 million expansion.

The fitness space will be doubled through the addition of an extra fitness room and an expansion of the mat room, making plenty of room for wrestling and yoga groups.

When finished, the fitness space will total 8,000 square feet. 

“Our fitness rooms are jam packed. There’s definitely a community need and want,” said Perry Fulop, community and recreation services manager for Newton.

“I think we get sort of a bad rap,” he said of the Newton facility. “I work here everyday and you can see we have limited space and this will give us a first-class recreation complex. It’ll make us comparable to the Cloverdale or Guildford rec centre.”

Exterior renovations are in the planning stages.

“We’re proposing an outside natural centre for children in front of the rec centre. The architect’s design is kind of airy and open.”

Public art will be incorporated into the building as well.

Construction is expected be begin in October or November, and Fulop said the work will hopefully be completed in the fall of 2016.

amy.reid@thenownewspaper.com