Meet me on MainStreet

Campus Recreation Center

page 8 of 9
Recreation facility completes MainStreet

Update: View Flash photo tour of completed facility

Last to make its grand entrance on MainStreet -- but right on schedule -- the University of Cincinnati's new 350,000-square-foot Campus Recreation Center will be worth the wait. Its pools, courts, fitness equipment, dining options, classrooms and living spaces should all be ready early in 2006.

Student suites atop the recreation center command views of Campus Green and Burnet Woods.

In fact, the center's suite-style housing units atop the building are expected to open in time for fall quarter '05. The 227-bed development, commanding "a cool view over Burnet Woods," according to university architect Ron Kull, is expected to be much enjoyed by the upperclass students for which it has been designed.

What could be more convenient than a room at the top of the recreation facility? Imagine a central location on campus, a quick morning workout on the indoor track or a dip in the pool, a healthy breakfast at the juice bar or marché restaurant, a stop at the convenience store for an extra notebook, then off to class -- perhaps in one of the six state-of-the-art electronic classrooms inside your building.

Facilities in the new center, which replaces the razed Laurence Hall, will open as each is completed. In addition to the natatorium with its eight 50-meter lanes, there will be a leisure pool and whirlpool. The gym will offer six basketball and eight racquetball courts. Weight training with a variety of free weights; cardio machines such as treadmills and exercise bikes (elliptical, recumbent and stationary); and "selectorized" nautilus-style machines are among other choices.
From the climbing wall to new locker rooms, aerobics classes to Spinner bike sessions, everything in the center has been planned to be state-of-the-art to appeal to UC students, faculty, alumni and staff.

Courts in the Campus Recreation Center will accommodate six basketball games at once, and eight swimmers can test their speed against one another in the natatorium.

"Students will be members through their Campus Life fee," Steve Sayers, associate vice president for Campus Services, points out. "Others will be able to join for a very competitive fee."

When all that exercise in the new University of Cincinnati Recreation Center works up an appetite, several options are close at hand. Fitness enthusiasts can choose healthy drinks, such as smoothies and nutritional supplements, from the juice bar; fresh produce and take-home meals from the convenience store; or typical soft drinks and snacks from vending machines. Even more attractive options are two full-dining facilities.

A marché, similar to the popular MarketPointe restaurant near Siddall Hall, puts an even greater emphasis on "presentation cooking," according to Steve Sayers, associate vice president for Campus Services. "Virtually all of the food production and preparation -- essentially everything but bulk pasta dishes -- will be done in the front of the house, not behind the scenes," he explains.

The 400-seat restaurant will be able to offer some new types of international dishes because of the installation of two very large pieces of cooking equipment that rarely are seen together on university campuses: a brick oven ("pizza, breads and desserts") and a Mongolian wok. "This wok is about 10 times the size of the one you might have at home," Sayers says. "It will be used primarily for chicken and steaks."

A late-night option, the Stadium View is a retail restaurant that overlooks Nippert's end zone. With the impressive view, seating for 160-plus and a similar but more upscale menu than the marché, it will please customers seeking the perfect place to entertain family or meet friends, especially those interested in Big East football.

"By the time we get all the landscaping finished for the recreation center, it will probably be between January and spring '06," university architect Ron Kull says. "We’ll have a major opening gala that spring, to celebrate that all of MainStreet is fully operational."

Update: View Flash photo tour of completed facility

NEXT | Dollars and designers

LINKS:
Read a description of the project by KZF
View design drawings by Morphosis

PREVIOUS Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 map NEXT