Press Release
Date: December 27, 2010
Contacts: Pat Sisneros, Vice President of College Services, 425-388-9232; psisneros@everettcc.edu
Katherine Schiffner, Communications Coordinator, 425-388-9554; kschiffner@everettcc.edu
Jenny Zuvela, Marketing Specialist, 425-388-9203; jzuvela@everettcc.edu
Everett Community College Student Fitness Center Opens Jan. 8
EVERETT, WA – Everett Community College will celebrate the opening of its new Student Fitness Center Jan. 8 after the first basketball game to be played in the new gym.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will happen after the 4 p.m. women’s basketball game, with the men’s game to follow. The EvCC Trojans are playing the Olympic College Rangers.
“We're extremely excited to open this facility as part of our continuing efforts to upgrade and modernize our campus,” said Everett Community College President David Beyer. “We see the fitness center as an improvement and investment in the community. Not only will this help our recruiting efforts for top local athletes, we also plan to attract statewide tournaments and events that will bring people to the north end of the city.”
New Gym, New Classrooms
The 49,000 square foot Student Fitness Center is located off Broadway, near the Everett Transit Center’s College Station and EvCC’s main campus. Construction started in August 2009 and will be complete in early January.
The $19.5 million center includes classrooms for physical education and health programs, a gym with retractable bleacher seating for 2,250, a cardio and free weight training room, a climbing wall, running track, juice bar, a multi-purpose small gym and offices for faculty and staff.
The center also includes space for intercollegiate athletics and activities. More than 250 athletes participate in EvCC’s nine league sports and intramural leagues.
Admission is $5 for the Jan. 8 games and ribbon cutting for the public (kids 11 and younger are free). Admission is free for students with student ID and faculty and staff with EvCC ID. A community-wide open house celebration will be scheduled in spring quarter once the facility is fully operational.
New Center Replaces 1958 Gym
The Student Fitness Center replaces the college’s 1958 gym, which was located at 1815 13th St. The gym and the surrounding land was purchased by Providence Everett Medical Center in 2007 as part of a land swap agreement that provides EvCC with property across the street from its Broadway Street campus at the College Plaza Shopping Center.
The 1958 gym was demolished in August 2009. While the gym was being built, classes were held at Broadway Center, 840 N. Broadway, and at the former Rite Aid in the College Plaza Shopping Center.
EvCC salvaged part of old gym floor and bricks to incorporate into the design of the new Student Fitness Center to preserve a part of the college’s history.
EvCC student Shannon Layer, a carpenter who is studying Computer Aided Design (CAD), was hired by a subcontractor to help install the old gym floor as part of the interior walls for the new center.
“As a student, it’s really fun to be able to say I got to work on that,” said Layer, of Everett, whose daughter also attends EvCC as a Running Start student. “The new building is amazing.”
Bricks from the old gym will be used to create a heritage wall on the outside of the gym. The bricks can be personalized with a two-line message for $150 and three-line message for $200 through donations to the Everett Community College Foundation. A keepsake brick is $25.
To order a personalized brick, contact Sharon Johnson at 425-388-9948 or sjohnson@everettcc.edu.
Student Campus Enhancement Fee Helps Fund Center
The Student Fitness Center is funded through a combination of existing college funds and student fees. Students approved paying 40 percent of the cost of the gym through a fee approved by a student vote in spring 2007. The fee is $5 per credit up to 10 credits (maximum of $50) and starts winter quarter.
"We've waited for this facility for a long time, and couldn't have done it without the cooperation of students and Providence Regional Medical Center,” Beyer said. “Both of those groups contributed to generate the dollars needed to fund this facility, which was built without the use of state allocation funds.”
Design and Construction
The architect for the gym is SRG Partnership, Inc. of Seattle and the general contractor is California-headquartered Panattoni, which has an office in Tukwila.
Online
For more information, to see construction via the live webcam, and photos of construction, visit www.everettcc.edu/construction
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