Every so often, it’s necessary for club operators to renovate certain areas of their facilities to remain up-to-date and ensure a premium member experience. In this article series, we highlight a number of dramatic gym transformations, including why updates were needed, learning lessons and advice for club operators pursuing similar projects.
Here, Paula Neubert, the president and general manager of Club Greenwood, shares insights into the club’s outdoor pool renovation, including the impact of the project.
Club Greenwood
Before renovation:
CS: Why was the renovation needed — what were the goals?
PN: We were running out of lane space in our indoor 25-meter pool. In considering all of our options, we wanted to build something unique and special. An outdoor lap pool, open year-round in Colorado, was the goal. In addition, we wanted to create a resort-like setting by adding a splash pool for kids and an adult leisure pool.
CS: What were the biggest challenges with the project, and how were those challenges overcome?
PN: A few challenges included:
- What type of system could we install that would minimize the amount of money spent to keep the pool warm during the winter months?
- How could we keep the deck from being icy and snow-packed?
- We had a main sewer line going through a portion of the construction area that had to be relocated.
- We had several full-grown pine trees that we either had to cut down or relocate.
- We had to annex property to accommodate the amount of space needed to build all three pools.
We overcame the challenges by:
- Identified and purchased high efficiency boilers and used heat exchangers to heat the water. Although the units were costly in the beginning, it helped keep our utilities from sky rocketing.
- We installed a glycol system on three sides of the deck, the stairs and leading into our private locker rooms to keep the ice and snow off the deck.
- We had to pay a lot of money to move the main sewer line, but we were able to identify this challenge in the beginning and budgeted appropriately.
- We didn’t want to cut down the pine trees, so we worked with a member who lives around the corner and relocated the majority of the trees and they still stand today.
- We worked with the Greenwood Metropolitan District to obtain the appropriate property and land needed.
CS: What were the biggest learning lessons from this project?
PN: You never know what an inspector is going to make you do to complete the project, so try and think of everything ahead of time and be flexible with a contingency budget.
CS: Is there any advice you can share with other operators pursuing a similar project?
PN: Feel free to contact us if you are thinking of building a similar project. It has been a huge success for us. Our membership has grown, our competitive youth swim team has grown, and our Masters swim team has grown (two-time state champions). If we could do it all over again, the only change we would make would be to figure out how to make the lap pool a 50-meter outdoor pool open year-round.
After renovation:
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
