Pflugerville weighs fitness center options

Pflugerville weighs fitness center options

Written by Amy Stansbury Thursday, 01 May 2008

There are nearly 7,000 Pflugerville Recreation Center members for a facility that has the capacity of 1,000. With that, and the significant population growth expected to continue in the foreseeable future, the Pflugerville City Council believes there is a need for a larger community recreation center.

The Parks and Recreation department conducted a survey and found that recreation center members want an indoor pool, too, said Mayor Jeff Coleman.

“We knew we had a need for some sort of fitness center with a pool, but we didn’t have anyone stepping up saying that they’re going to take care of this need,” Coleman said. “We had rumors, and rumors are not enough to do it. We always hear rumors.”

So, with the Capital Improvements Bond Committee’s recommendation, the city council is holding a bond election in May that includes a $16 million proposition for a new community recreation center. It would be almost three times the size of the existing recreation center with a double gym and an indoor pool. The bond election also includes an $11 million proposition for a new city hall and a $7 million proposition for improvements to the existing library.

But now, two other large family fitness centers have also said they are interested in building in the area. The YMCA of Austin would like to build a larger facility, and two investors have plans to build an Aerofit health and fitness club on land they purchased last year.

All three fitness centers would cater to families and be similar in size, featuring practically the same amenities, including an indoor pool, at least one full-sized basketball court, racquetball courts, weight and cardio rooms and program rooms for exercise classes. 

Community recreation center

Pflugerville’s existing recreation center is busy and program rooms are booked from open to close, according to Parks and Recreation Director Glenn Holzer.

“We have been upgrading equipment and we’ve pretty much maxed it out,” he said. “There’s a wait for treadmills and some of the more popular pieces of equipment, and people get frustrated.”

Yoga, dance, aerobics, karate and even line dancing are some of the classes held in the one room at the existing recreation center. There is demand for more classes, but Holzer said they are limited on offering any more for lack of space.

“We always get people comparing our rec center to the Clay Madsen rec center [in Round Rock],” he said. “What we’re proposing is something similar to that, if not something bigger. We would have a larger pool area with a separate exercise or therapy pool.”

Membership costs are typically lower at community recreation centers compared to privately owned and operated gyms.

“We hit a broad spectrum of people by having it affordable,” he said. “Our new one would probably be a little more expensive, but not anywhere near the cost of a for-profit.”

Youth basketball and volleyball teams cannot practice at the existing recreation center because there is only one indoor court. Holzer said if the recreation center had two gyms, one would be available for team practices while the other would remain open for members.

“That’s a need that’s really expensive for youth sports teams that rent from the school district,” he said. “They could rent it out and it would be very inexpensive, certainly not as much as it costs for them to rent the gyms from the school district.”

YMCA

“As I see Pflugerville grow, the basic number the YMCA needs is 25,000 people, so it’s there,” said Mark Olmstead, executive director of the Northwest Family and Pflugerville YMCA of Austin, referring to the population required for the YMCA to build a facility similar to the one on McNeil Road in Austin.

“Pflugerville is rooftops and that’s what the Y is — families,” he said. “And I think the [YMCA] brings value to a community.”

The YMCA has a small facility in Pflugerville in the strip center at the corner of Windermere Drive and Pecan Street, next to Casa Garcia’s Mexican restaurant. But Olmstead said it is not as centered around families as the YMCA normally is. “We usually start with the children’s programs, but we did that one a little backwards,” he said. “We didn’t start with the kids and the families with that one, and it hasn’t evolved the way we would have wanted it to.”

The YMCA of Austin is interested in partnering with the City of Pflugerville on a large fitness center for families, Olmstead said. In this kind of public/private partnership, he said typically the city and the YMCA would share the construction costs and the YMCA would manage and operate the fitness center, but details would need to be worked out before confirming that is how it would work in this case, too.

Aerofit

Pflugerville resident Clint Chandler and his business partner, Ramiro Galindo, hope to build an Aerofit health and fitness club on a portion of 7.2 acres of land they bought for $1.2 million in October 2007. The site is behind the Dairy Queen, near the intersection of Heatherwilde Boulevard and Pecan Street.

“We have secured land and financing over the past year,” Chandler said. “We’re about set to break ground, really. What needs to happen at this point is we’d need to submit our plans to the city for approval.”

Galindo and Chandler created an exploratory committee that recently completed a financial analysis to confirm that a community Pflugerville’s size could support a large club. However, they said if proposition two passes, they will not build the Aerofit because they feel the market is not big enough to support more than one large fitness center.

“Pflugerville is in desperate need of a rec center, something that can cater to the family,” Chandler said. “We have been planning for a health and fitness club for a long time. But if [the city] builds a rec center, it would kill our plan.”

Chandler said he was unaware that a new community recreation center had been in the planning stages for a year, but he feels Aerofit would be a better option for residents. He said a privately owned and operated club would generate property and sales tax revenue for the city. The Pflugerville Recreation Center and the YMCA are tax-exempt entities, which means they do not pay those taxes.

“We’re not asking for any tax abatements and no tax incentives,” he said. “We would pay about $180,000 a year in property taxes to our local governments, plus $900,000 a year in payroll. With the sales tax, 2 percent of [membership revenue], basically $75,000 annually, goes back to the city. Another $1.1 million would be spent in local purchases every year.”

If proposition two passes, taxpayers would pay for the cost to build the community recreation center. Chandler said as a businessman and as a resident, he doesn’t think it makes sense for everyone to pay for something only a portion of the community will use.

“National data shows that about 13 percent of the population is a member of a fitness club,” Chandler said. “A rec center would probably have a membership enrollment of about 2,000 people, and 100 percent — everyone — is paying for this. As a taxpayer, it just doesn’t make sense for the city to get into a tax-exempt business competing with private enterprises.”

After the bond election

All three entities — the city council, Chandler and Galindo and the YMCA of Austin — will determine their courses of action after the May 10 bond election. If the bond for the new recreation center passes, the city would not necessarily spend the entire $16 million approved, according to Coleman. He also said the city is open to a public/private partnership and would explore options.

“We want a pool for our swim teams to use,” Coleman said. “That’s critical and would be a deal breaker.”

If proposition two passes, Coleman said the city will either start building the new recreation center immediately or they will continue to explore partnership opportunities. But if it does not pass, the city council has no plans to move forward and build a recreation center.

“If it fails, we have no money, so we will be out of the rec center business for the short term,” he said, “We [the city council] have never discussed issuing a CO (certificate of obligation) for a rec center. COs are for items we need, something we have to have, and none of us see the rec center as an absolute necessity. It’s something our citizens want and need but don’t have to have. It’s not like a road.”

Coleman said he and the city council were not aware of Chandler’s plans when they determined the propositions for the Pflugerville bond election.

“If the bond passes, we would be open to a private/public joint venture,” Chandler said. “Ultimately, I’d like to see prop two defeated. I’d say the chances of a partnership are slim though, less than 10 percent.”

If the proposition does not pass, the existing YMCA will remain, but according to Olmstead, the organization would look at other possibilities for a full facility in the future.

Current and Proposed Recreation Centers

*This information is subject to change as plans are finalized.

• New Pflugerville Recreation Center (Proposition two in May 10 bond election)
  • Location: On West Pfennig Lane, between Heatherwilde Boulevard and Railroad Avenue
  • **Membership costs are expected to be similar to Clay Madsen Recreation Center fees, which are: No initiation fee; family: $270/year, $70/quarter, $25/month; individual age 21-49: $120/year, $35/quarter, $15/month; senior age 50+: $65/year, $20/quarter, $10/month; individual age 20 and younger: $65/year, $20/quarter, $10/month; non-residents: additional $10/month, $5/month for seniors
  • *Children’s programs: After school childcare, summer camps and classes
  • *Amenities: Nine-lane indoor lap pool, exercise pool, two full-size basketball courts, game room, cardio/weight room, locker rooms, multiple rooms for exercise classes and administrative offices
  • *Estimated size: 58,218 sq. ft.
  • Contact: www.cityofpflugerville.com
  • **According to Pflugerville Parks and Recreation, they would conduct a market survey to benchmark membership costs and set membership rates.
>
• Current Pflugerville Recreation Center
  • Location: 400 Immanuel Road
  • Membership costs: Family (resident): $125/year; $45/quarter; family (non resident): $160/year; $65/quarter; individual (resident): $75/year; $30/quarter; individual (non-resident): $100/year; $50/quarter
  • Amenities: One full-size basketball court, 1,178 sq. ft. cardio/weight room, one program room for exercise classes, childcare room, meeting room and a game room
  • Children’s programs: Summer camps and dance, gymnastics, karate, basketball skills, drawing and toddler mommy-and-me music classes
  • Size: 21,675 sq. ft.
  • Contact: www.cityofpflugerville.com or 251-5082
• New YMCA
  • Location: Not determined
  • *Membership costs: Initiation fee $150; individual $55/month; family $75/month (families of any size); includes access to any YMCA of Austin facility. Membership includes program discounts and the use of all facilities associated with the YMCA of Austin
  • *Children’s programs: After school and mother’s day out childcare, summer camps and classes
  • *Amenities: Indoor pool, basketball court(s), cardio/weight room, multipurpose rooms for exercise classes
  • Size: Not determined
  • Contact: www.austinymca.org
• New Aerofit health and fitness club
  • Location: Behind Dairy Queen on Heatherwilde Boulevard near Pecan Street
  • *Membership costs: Initiation fee $125; individual: $42 /month; family of four: $100/ month
  • *Children’s programs: After school and summer childcare and classes
  • *Amenities: Nine-lane indoor lap pool, cardio/weight room, multi-purpose rooms for exercise classes
  • *Size: First floor: 36,000 sq. ft. and second floor: 12,000-14,000 sq. ft. (48,000-50,000 sq. ft. total)
  • Contact: www.aerofitclubs.com, www.wrecktherec-centerprop.com or call 979-823-1920
• Current YMCA
  • Location: 15803 Windermere Drive
  • Membership costs: Initiation fee $150; individual $55/month; family $75/month (families of any size); includes access to any YMCA of Austin facility. Membership includes program discounts and the use of all facilities associated with the YMCA of Austin. Pflugerville YMCA-only membership for $40 per person.
  • Children’s programs: Child watch area, youth martial arts, parents’ nights out, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. summer Mother’s day out
  • Amenities: Cardio/weight room, aerobics, kickboxing and yoga classes
  • Size: 7,000 sq. ft.
  • Contact: www.austinymca.org or 252-9688

Local gyms

There are a few smaller gyms around town, but most are not targeted at families and they do not offer the amenities proposed by the City of Pflugerville for a community recreation center, the YMCA or Aerofit.

• Gyms in town:
  • Discover Fitness at Goals
  • Gold’s Gym
  • Curves
  • YMCA• Pflugerville Recreation Center• Game On Fun Fitness
  • The Studio in Motion
  • Although there has been a sign for a 24-Hour Fitness at Stone Hill Town Center, it cannot be confirmed that this gym will open, and initial plans did not include an indoor pool.

Each center is expected to be similar in size and feature amenities such as an indoor pool, at least one full-sized basketball court, racquetball courts, cardio and weight rooms and exercise classrooms.

0 Comments