Wolfson Campus Gym To Relocate To Building 7
Starting in February, College officials say construction in building 7 of Wolfson Campus will break ground for the Wellness and Fitness Center, moving it from its current location in building 8. The gym will be located on the north side of the building and will be housed in its own dedicated space.
“It is in line with the national trend that fitness facilities be as accessible as possible, and having it located on a ground floor, right next to parking, will make it more accessible to users and will likely increase its usage by our students,” said Juan Mendieta, director of communications at Miami Dade College.
The gym is currently located on the top floor of building 8, across the street from building 1 and right next to McDonald’s. It is a large space that has more than 30 cardio machines and 40 machines for strength training. There is also a group exercise room which offers 1, 200 square feet of space. Students are able to take classes such as aerobic kickboxing, hatha yoga, indoor cycling and zumba. There are currently 1,066 active members and memberships cost $10 for a month, $30 for a semester, and $60 for a year.
“The new facility will include all the essential cardiovascular, free weights, and weight training machines,” said Hesselin Fernandez De Cueto, Director of Media Relations. “It will continue to offer the best quality of service for their users, which include fitness assessments, orientations, group exercise classes, and towel services.”
Cost for the whole construction is $388,939, which includes design, demolition, electrical, data and flooring.
Classes that were originally located in building 7 for the spring term were decommissioned. According to an email sent out by Jose A. Vicente, former Wolfson Campus president, College officials are “working diligently to relocate the classes and to ensure minimal disruption.”
Mendieta said that due to the gym’s move, MDC’s School of Engineering + Technology (EnTech) would be moved and expanded to building 8 to “harness new synergies with the other programs currently housed there.”
According to Mendieta, the gym’s move is a result of the unprecedented success of the other programs, such as MAGIC, housed in building 8 that are seeing major growth every semester.
There are also plans to move to the campus bookstore to building 7, though the plans are still underdevelopment.
Construction of the gym in building 7 is expected to be complete by March of this year.
