Fitness and Fun for the 21st Century
When you step into the new Barrington Park District Fitness and Recreation Center at Langendorf Park in Barrington, you immediately sense that this building belongs right where it is — in the heart of a community that values outdoor recreation and open spaces.
The building’s natural light, expansive view, open floor plan, and fieldstone lobby echo so many of the other public spaces in town — the library, the public safety building, Village Hall, Citizens Park. That’s no accident. When Barrington Park District Executive Director Terry Jennings engaged Williams Architects to design this building, she wanted to “bring the outside in” to help the community focus on health and wellness year round. Jennings and her board and staff visited at least a dozen other fitness and recreation buildings throughout the region, taking note of the things that worked well and the things that didn’t for other communities. The result of their effort is a $12 million, state-of-the-art, green-inspired facility that is destined to become the new hub of fitness, recreation, and community activity in town.
A long time in the making
In the late 1990s, the Barrington Park District (BPD) began a master planning process to address the long-term needs of its facilities and parks. At that time, the renovation or complete reconstruction of the park district facility at Langendorf Park was high on the priority list. The original building had been built in the 1930s, with various additions over the years. The Barrington Room, where many a Jazzerciser, senior citizen, or birthday party-goer has enjoyed classes, parties, and lunches over the years, was once a roller rink in the 1950s. Eventually it was converted into a meeting room. Later, the fitness center was added on to the south side of the building, and the concession stand was added during construction of the Aqualusion pool.
Over time, the patchwork solutions to space at the building wore thin. By the late 1990s, the facility was not meeting the needs of the community. The building’s heating and cooling systems were depleted, the community rooms and gym had become inadequate for programming, the staff had outgrown the available office space, and storage was nonexistent.
The BPD felt that a solution at Langendorf Park was needed, and began the initial planning for an all-new building on the site. But their attention was diverted when the opportunity came along to purchase the Jewel Tea property.
“The citizens of the community came to us and asked us to get involved with what was happening with Jewel Tea [in the early 2000s],” Jennings said. “So we put the plans for a new building at Langendorf on hold, because when open space becomes available, you have to jump on it.”
Fast-forward 10 years, and now the Barrington-area community enjoys beautiful open space and a handicapped-accessible tree house on the award-winning property called Citizens Park. Now it was time to turn the attention back to the needs at Langendorf.
Jennings and her board formed a steering committee made up of dozens of community leaders who laid the groundwork for a new, state-of-the-art facility to be built just south of the current building at Langendorf. It would be called the Barrington Park District Fitness and Recreation Center. The committee took tours of the old facility to see where the shortcomings were, and then devised a conservative plan for a building that would bring the park district facility space up to the present and prepare it well for the future. They had a short time frame to do the work, as the March 2008 referendum was coming up, where the BPD would need to ask the citizens for the funding to build this new center.
The park district has historically had significant success in passing referenda, and at the time of the election the full force of the 2008 recession had not yet kicked in. “The timing was good,” said Christine H. Garry, the longtime BPD board president. “We put the steering committee together to really look at why we felt it was essential to build this new facility and how to do it in a cost-effective way, which gave us credibility with the community. They knew we weren’t just building a building to build a building.”
The referendum passed, and after getting bids from several architectural and construction firms, the committee and park district board decided that the building would be designed by Williams Architects and built by W.B. Olson Construction. Less than two years later, the new Fitness and Recreation Center is open for business.
Inviting 21st century fitness
Experiencing the new Fitness and Recreation Center for the first time is something akin to trading up from a century-old downtown apartment to a spacious, new five-bedroom home in the suburbs. Compared to the old facility, the new center is open, clean, bright, functional, and inviting.
The lobby is the first thing you’ll notice. Worked in flagstone to echo the building material used for all the buildings at Citizens Park, the two-story open lobby welcomes visitors with its spacious entryway and glass windows that allow the light to stream in. The lobby features a waiting room and enough space for people to congregate as they wait for classes to begin or end. The stairway leads up to the second floor, which houses fitness and dance studios, as well as the fitness center and walking and running track. A one-way mirror allows parents to watch dance classes in progress, while walkers and runners enjoy panoramic views of Langendorf Park thanks to the many second-floor windows.
The BPD’s preschool and child care facilities now have a dedicated wing of the building. Once housed in a location away from the main park district building, the preschool now has on-site rooms equipped with child-friendly carpeting and linoleum, pint-sized sinks, and storage for all those preschool art and educational supplies. This area also houses the new KidCare room, which is the BPD’s child care and nursery, and will also play host to young children’s birthday parties. Anyone taking classes, working out, or using the Fitness and Recreation Center can use the KidCare service for a small fee.
Just across the hall from the preschool wing is the new double gym, with a walking and running track circling its perimeter on the upper floor. There are no less than 12 basketball hoops in the gym, which can be sectioned off to accommodate several sports or classes at one time. Light floods into the gym thanks to the green-inspired windows lining the south wall that also help regulate the temperature in the room all year long.
In the western wing of the building, the Fitness and Recreation Center features a number of multi-purpose and community rooms on the first floor, with the fitness and dance studios above them on the second floor. The new Barrington Room features a large kitchen, a stage, and doors that open out to a patio overlooking Langendorf Park.
The second floor of the center is nirvana for any Barrington resident who has been looking for a full-service fitness center at a park district price. Rows of treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, free weights, medicine balls, and other fitness equipment fill out the spacious fitness floor. Giant windows line the south wall, giving exercisers a beautiful view of the serene Langendorf Park while they’re working out. Dedicated locker rooms for fitness center members are a welcome new addition to the park district’s fitness facility (in the old building, locker rooms were shared with the pool facility).
“I think the community has gotten an amazing new facility and an enormous bang for its buck with this building,” said David Nelson, the Cuba Township supervisor and a local community leader who assisted with the steering committee. Falling construction prices and competitive bidding has allowed the BPD to take advantage of a number of upgrades and extras while still remaining within the original budget.
“We really tried to be conscious of how the community and the taxpayers feel about spending money,” said Jennings. “We have saved hundreds of thousands on interest on the building bonds because we are fiscally responsible; we are the smallest park district in the state with the highest bond rating [AA2], which earned us better interest rates. This has allowed us to do much more for the community with fewer dollars.”
Architect Frank Parisi of Williams Architects agrees. “Because the economic climate was favorable, we were able to add a large number of green-inspired elements to this building while staying within the original budget. This building is on the cutting edge of green design, which will save the park district lots of money in the long run.”
Going green
The entire building was conceived and designed to take advantage of the existing open space at Langendorf Park and ensure that the building would be as environmentally friendly as possible.
When the building’s foundation was excavated, no topsoil was transported off the site. Instead, it was reapportioned on the site itself. All water runoff from the site drains into the detention pond behind the gym, which is then released into nearby Flint Creek on a monitored and regulated basis. Native plants were used on the bottom of the pond to increase water absorption in the pond, and hardy perennials were used as decorative plants around the building to reduce the need for watering in the summer months.
When designing the building, the architects specified a “high-performance envelope,” where all the rooms have some form of connection to the outside — usually windows. A large proportion of the walls feature energy-efficient insulated glass windows to help heat the building in winter and cool it in summer. The roof features a white membrane that reduces the amount of heat coming into the building during the summer months, again reducing the need for air-conditioning. All rooms also feature efficient fluorescent lighting and have energy saving “occupancy sensors” that sense when there are no people in the room and adjust the temperature accordingly. Individual temperature controls in each room also allow for energy savings throughout the building.
“The gymnasium is the most exciting space because of the top-barrel vaulted ceilings,” Parisi said. The windows are glazed on the south, allowing natural light in without overheating the gym. On sunny days, you don’t even need to turn the lights on in the gym and it’s very bright.
Indoor air quality is also a wonderful feature of the new building. All carpeting is made from a percentage of recycled content, and all paint on the walls is low VOC (volatile organic compounds), contributing to better air quality and better health for those using the building. All flooring is linoleum made from linseed oil, a naturally renewable source.
“There is a transparency to this building — we really have brought the outside in,” said Parisi. “I’ve worked on a lot of recreation buildings, and this is one here in Barrington is one of my pride and joy.”
The building is also a pride and joy for Jennings and her board and staff. “This new building really puts the focus on health, wellness, and recreation in our community,” said Jennings. “The park district is unique in that it can provide something for everyone of all ages in our community. We can provide a better quality of life for anyone who wants to get involved with our programs. And now we have an amazing new facility to enhance our existing programs and enable us to offer even more programming for our residents.”
Board President Christine Garry agreed. “This building belongs to our residents. Everyone can use it. Our community owns it, and we hope they take advantage of it and enjoy it.”
With its impressive stone work, beautifully lit interior spaces, vast areas for a multitude of community classes, programs, and fitness and recreation opportunities, this building promises to be yet another park district gem for all Barrington-area residents to enjoy for decades to come.
Sidebar
Fitness and Recreation Center Grand Opening Celebration
Saturday, January 9
Join the Barrington Park District for its grand opening celebration on Saturday, January 9, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Special guests Jesse White Tumblers will perform at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the open house will feature family discounts on annual Fitness Center memberships, free child care for the day, tours of the facility, meet and greets with instructors, equipment demonstrations, raffle prizes and giveaways, and refreshments for all. For more information, go to www.barringtonparkdistrict.org or call 847-381-0687.
Something for everyone at the new fitness and recreation center
Along with a new building, the Barrington Park District is also debuting a number of classes and programs to begin the year that complement its already full slate of programs for tots, youth, young adults, adults, and seniors.
New programs in 2010 include:
Fitness Classes:
- Spin
- Cardio Kick
- Boot Camp
- Turbo Kick
- Zumba
- Pilates
- Low-Impact Classes
- Yoga for Teens
- Nutrition and Wellness
- Workshops
Tot, Youth, and Teen Programs
- KidCare child care
- Skyline Studios Musical Theater (singing, acting, and dancing)
- Baby Gym Classes
- Computer Classes
- Spanish Classes
- Preschool Enrichment Classes
- Science Adventures After School Clubs
- Chess Wizards After School Club
- Cooking Day Off of School Programs
- Art Programs by Picasso’s Workshop
- Teen Day-Off Trips
- Batting Cages
- Private Indoor Golf Lessons
- Sports Clinics
Adult/Mature Adult Programs
- Dance Classes
- Computer Classes
- Take a Day Away Trips
- Low-Impact Fitness Programs
- Volleyball