CREDIT: MELISSA NOVACASKA
Much progress has been made to the development of the Wellness and Fitness Centre, which is set to be completed in April and open for business in May.

Construction and progress on Fanshawe’s new Wellness and Fitness Centre is set to be finished mid-April 2017.

According to Heather Cummings, executive director of Student Success, who’s had a large part in the planning overseeing of the project, said progress is on time, with a soft launch slated for May, and the grand opening at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.

With a project that has been in the works for the last four years, including planning, asking students their opinions of the centre, and finally building it, Cummings is excited for the end results.

According to Marc Cantin, superintendent of D. Grant Construction Limited, who has been working on this project, said the cost is roughly $25.1 million, with 75,000 square feet of space.

The cost to use the new centre will be no more than $35, and will be included within student’s tuition fees and one main thing that Cummings said was important for the project was that it is universally accessible to all, which not only includes the equipment, but also changing rooms.

“There was a lot of conversation, a lot of thought about the changing room needs. We’ve been paying attention to other campuses, and there’s been these requests for universal washrooms, gender neutral, and while we have some of those types of facilities here, the thought was, if we have a facility that every student was contributing for, every student is meant to have access to, when you build the changing room, you need to then have changing rooms that meet any preference, any need so we have changing rooms for students in wheelchairs, or students requiring attendant assistance, we have gender neutral changing rooms,” Cummings said.

Cummings said the whole idea of the Wellness and Fitness Centre will be great to help students who are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, since employees around campus are dealing with students who are feeling many different emotions.

This will be a great way for both students and employees to either get in a workout, or even gain a peaceful mind.

“Everyone should feel that there’s a place for them in this facility,” Cummings said. “I’m so excited, to me, it’s going to be such a great thing for students.”

Cummings, who is thrilled to be able to physically see the progress of the building, said employees of the college will be happy too, and that just makes the whole project a “win, win” situation.

The Interrobang went on a tour of the centre with Cummings and Cantin in mid-December, and was able to see the progress that has been made.

With three floors, a rock climbing wall, a quiet space, a napping room, many changing rooms and space to not only workout, but also take gym classes and have some counselling, the Wellness and Fitness Centre looks promising.

Cummings said she wanted the building to be “airy” and “light” which is why there is glass everywhere, including a mirrored wall divider, and windows that can be dimmed and made opaque so you are not being stared at while working out.

There are large and long staircases, elevators and a sense of soothing and calming tones to the building, even though there’s still a decent amount to be done.

There will be a lot of gym equipment, classes and a safe space for everyone to enjoy exercise, as well as taking time to rest and make sure their mental health is on track.

According to Cummings, the “embedded philosophy” of the project is “inclusivity” and by the end of the tour, it was clear to see that this project is living up to its goal.