Ex-Jewish Community Center Kicks Off New Incarnation

BY KRISTINA HERRNDOBLER The VIRGINIAN-PILOT

NORFOLK Janet Winslow felt like she had been hit by a truck when she heard that the Jewish Community Center was moving to Virginia Beach. She had been walking in the centers pool for five years, and the exercise had done wonders for her rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

For Winslow, regular walking can be torture. In the JCC pool, however, she logged more than 900 miles .

When the center closed on July 2, 2004, she went to the Northside Pool. But she found that, unlike in the JCCs glass-domed pool, she couldnt take many strides before heading into the deep end.

Now shes enjoying her home pool again.

The former JCC has been purchased by the city and reopened as the Norfolk Fitness & Wellness Center , the citys first comprehensive recreation center. It will begin selling memberships today at rates slightly higher than predicted earlier this year, but far cheaper than the old JCC.

Winslow, 66, will pay an annual senior rate of $65 , which she said is a bargain for the pain relief that the pool provides.

Money is important to anyone, but Id pay $500 just to be in that pool, Winslow said. Id pay anything because it is wonderful.

The cost kept Birgit Huskey and her family from attending the center before the city took it over.

Drying off from a swim with her son Nikolas, Huskey said she, too, will be in line to buy a membership when they go on sale.

The centers indoor pool has been open since mid-March, but maintenance problems and heavy rain delayed the buildings full opening until June 20.

The facility has been free for residents until today.

Tennis courts, soccer fields, an outdoor pool, a fitness center and the citys only two public racquetball courts are among the amenities now available at the 92,000-square-foot facility near Wards Corner. The center will soon start offering aerobic classes and tennis lessons, and cardiovascular exercise machines are on order.

A cafe will open in August, said Agatha Mears, the senior recreation supervisor.

The city bought the complex last year for $6.2 million and expects to spend about $2 million on renovations during its first three years. The facility will house the Norfolk Senior Center and through an agreement with Bon Secours Health System rehabilitation services for recovering patients and various programs for seniors.

Steve Versprille is making a habit of jogging to the center from his home about a mile away, lifting weights, and then jogging back. Versprille, who teaches a weight training class at Lake Taylor High School, called the new weight-lifting equipment top-of-the-line.

The center has also become a haven for his two children, who are 7 and 9 .

They get up in the morning begging me to come here, he said.

While many of those using the center this week said they were happy with the improvements, Beth Copeland, fitness director, said more changes are on the way.

We are going to keep building, she said. This is just a start.

* Reach Kristina Herrndobler at (757) 446-2303 or kristina.herrndobler@ pilotonline.com.