Warehouse update draws unexpected audience

Carleen Wild, Enterprise staff

The crowd wasn’t quite as big as organizers had hoped for this past Sunday night. They know there are plenty of young families eager for updates on The Warehouse — especially those already wondering when the new indoor rec facility might open and how soon they can start scheduling turf time for baseball and softball teams.
But a full weekend of tournaments, holiday programs, and winter travel likely had most parents simply trying to catch their breath before another big week, plus the cold weather added into the mix.
What was interesting — was who did show up.
Rather than the youth-sports crowd, most of those in attendance this past Sunday evening were older adults — community members who’ve been craving a place close to home where they can work out year-round. Tad and Kathy Jacobs were among those seated in the front row, asking about potential programming for older adults and how they might access the new gym and weight room.
Marc Burggraff, Bret Severtson, Eric Beltman, and Chris Wiese walked through construction updates, anticipated timelines, volunteer efforts, and the funding still needed to complete the large-scale, volunteer-driven facility.

How access will likely work: Organizers said they are leaning toward an app-based system used by several other neighboring community-style gyms. The app would handle scheduling, payments, and serve as a digital key card.

The phone just needs to be within a foot or two of the door, Severtson explained — something that works well because most people carry their phones everywhere anyway.

Construction is running about a month to six weeks behind schedule. Organizers had hoped for a March or April opening, but early May may now be more realistic. That timing may actually help, they said, giving the team a little breathing room to work out inevitable start-up kinks before heavy demand hits.

Walls for the fitness center are expected to go up this week, one of the elements drawing the most excitement from locals who’ve been driving to neighboring communities for gym access.

“The thing that most excites me is I literally think there will be a benefit for a five year old and a 95-year-old in there and everywhere in-between. I think that’s the biggest positive…” Severtson said.

At roughly $650,000 raised so far in both financial and in-kind donations, organizers said they’ve secured many positive commitments — with more meetings planned, including discussions around potential naming rights for certain areas of the building.

They estimate the full turnkey figure — equipment, flooring, basketball hoops, batting cages, and all interior components — at about $900,000.

“That’s quite a bit more than we’ve had on it the entire time. We were asked if that included our interior equipment and everything else and yes, that would be a turnkey figure. It has all of your equipment, flooring, basketball hoops, cages, and everything else inside. Just that we had to get engineers and architects involved due to our square footage. That’s where our price kind of got elevated over these last couple of months.”