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The Northside Fitness Center and the Southside Fitness Center are both currently undergoing renovations on Ramstein Air Base, with an expected completion date in June 2018.
“Renovation plans due to water damage at the Southside Fitness Center were already in motion,” said 1st Lt. Anne Herrmann, 786th Force Support Squadron fitness and sports section chief. “When we found out there was possible funding to replace the Northside’s flooring, as well as expand our workout area, we decided to take that opportunity.”
Renovations at the NSFC will include completely replacing and reinforcing the flooring in the main free-weight area, racquetball courts three and four, and the current powerlifting room. When completed, the powerlifting room will move to the newly transformed, former racquetball courts and a “tactical fitness area” (for cross-fit-style workouts) will be introduced to the community.
“The Northside Fitness Center was built in the 1950s, and the current free-weight area was a basketball court,” said Alysha Brandy, 786th FSS fitness program manager. “It’s on a floating floor, with space between the cement and the wood. With people dropping weights when it was converted to a weight room, the floor has suffered severe damage.”
For the convenience of customers, renovations will occur in several phases to avoid major facility closures.
“We sincerely appreciate your patience while we bring fitness improvements and introduce new capabilities to better serve our customers and community,” Herrmann said. “In the long run, it’s going to be the best thing for our customers.”
To lessen inconveniences caused by the renovations, the SSFC will open at 0430 on weekdays.
“After careful consideration, there wasn’t enough traffic to justify keeping the gym open past nine at night, though,” Herrmann said. “Child care facilities close to construction will also be closed during renovations for safety. But, we have a parent child care area three minutes down the road, and one right here at Southside.”
The 786th FSS is working closely with the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron and the 435th Construction and Training Squadron to ensure the fitness facilities’ renovations go as smoothly as possible, Herrmann said.
Additionally, other fitness centers are available for use during the renovation, such as Vogelweh Fitness Center, Kleber Fitness Center, Sembach Fitness Center, Landstuhl Fitness Center, and Rhine Ordnance Barracks Fitness Center.
Officials add that recent upgrades to the 24/7 access system at Vogelweh Fitness Center now allow spouses and dependents to register their ID cards for access during unmanned hours.
All dates are approximate and are subject to change at any time. Updates and changes will be posted to the “Ramstein and Vogelweh Fitness Centers” Facebook page, as well as signs posted at the facilities.
