New Pearl Harbor Fitness Center Under Construction

By Thomas Obungen, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Construction of a new, modern, centralized fitness center that will feature amenities of a modern sports club began July 26 as ground was broken on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for the new facility.

The new fitness center will ultimately become the main gymnasium for the Pearl Harbor side of the joint base and serve as many as 18,000 monthly patrons from more than 200 commands in the area.

"Fitness center facilities and the delivery of fitness programs are essential tools for Navy and Air Force personnel to meet their physical readiness requirement," said Tom Moriarty, Navy Region Hawaii's Morale, Welfare and Recreation director.

"By building these new, state-of-the-art facilities with the latest in fitness equipment, it will make it easier for Sailors, airman and their families to improve their physical readiness and boost morale."

NAVFAC Hawaii awarded the design-build contract to Kiewit Building Group, Inc., in July 2009 for $24.3 million. Planning and design from Honolulu architectural firm Next Design LLC took just under a year, and the project has a scheduled completion date of November 2011.

The contract calls for construction of a two-story, environmentally-sustainable, 63,636 sq. ft. fitness center to be built with numerous recycled construction materials, photovoltaic arrays, and drought-tolerant landscaping.

The facility will also receive a new parking lot with plenty of bicycle racks that will support patrons of both the fitness center and Club Pearl. In addition, the contractor will also demolish four buildings in the area.

"In accordance with federal mandates, the new fitness center will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified and have all the amenities of a modern sports club," said Ryan Go, NAVFAC Hawaii project manager. "The centralized and open air design allows patrons to easily choose from a wide-range of fitness activities and equipment without having to go to separate facilities."

Some of the amenities personnel will be able to take advantage of are two combination basketball/volleyball courts, a large workout area with weight training equipment, cardiovascular machinery, and two racquetball courts capable of hosting wallyball games (volleyball played on a racquetball court).