Eastside Family YMCA Gets Major Facelift

Some members who haven't made it into their local recently may do a double-take the next time they step into the fitness center. 

That's because the Eastside Y has invested thousands of dollars "sprucing up" the YMCA facility on Taylors Road, as wellness director Lisa Elmore puts it. 

"Every year we try to do a little bit to freshen the place up," Elmore said. "We can't do it all at one time, because we can't just keep members from coming in.

Over the course of last week, the front lobby of the Eastside YMCA got a new paint job to help brighten the building. But the biggest investment came further inside the building. 

The fitness center has taken on a completely different look, as it was closed to members from Dec. 23 through Dec. 26 to accommodate for massive machine overall. 

The YMCA's fitness center now boasts 33 new state-of-the-art exercise machines, which include ellipticals, seated ellipticals, exercise bicycles, recumbent bicycles, treadmills and a stair stepper. The machines are being leased for an estimated $100,000. That comes two years after the YMCA made another major investment of replacing the weightlifting equipment, which was 10 years old. 

"Because of the way we rearranged the fitness center, we were able to fit in seven more pieces of cardio equipment," Elmore said. 

The machines, which are Matrix or Precor brand, are equipped with a personal video screen and are also compatible with iPods so that exercisers will have entertainment options while they work up a sweat. 

YMCA staffers will be gradually re-painting portions of the hallways of building to move the aesthetics of the facility out of what Elmore calls a "1990's color scheme." 

The facelift comes at an appropriate time for the Eastside Family YMCA, as it's expecting an increase in both new members and newly active members with the beginning of 2012.

The Eastside Y has more than 3,000 membership "units," which include individual and family membership, meaning the branch likely boasts a membership total of at least 5,000 people, Elmore said. 

The exercise machines were not operational Tuesday due to electrical issues, but they are expected to be up and running by Wednesdsay.