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News | Sept. 9, 2015

Changes coming to HQC Fitness Center, DLA Child Development Center

By Amanda Neumann DLA Public Affairs

From new lockers and showers in the McNamara Headquarters Complex Fitness Center to new playgrounds at the Defense Logistics Agency Child Development Center, the HQC's Morale, Welfare and Recreation office will be upgrading some of its facilities at Fort Belvoir in the coming months.

In the HQC Fitness Center, a locker room renovation project is due to start this winter. The six- to eight-week project for the male and female locker rooms will relocate the showers and add more lockers for all users. In addition, the project will also upgrade the center’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, said Greg Cummings, HQC MWR program manager.

“The project will create more space in the locker rooms and will improve the air quality with the update to the HVAC system,” he said. “We’re also going to pull out the carpet in the front receiving area and replace it.”

Another project, the WellBeats virtual exercise kiosk, has finished its pilot program and can now be used by all participants. With almost 100 class formats to choose from, participants can choose classes that work for them and their schedules. After pre-registering for the 35-minute class, participants come to the HQC Fitness Center group exercise room at appointed times.

“WellBeats is meant to add additional classes when employees can’t make the scheduled times,” Cummings said. “It doesn’t take the place of our current instructors, but it’s a user-friendly way for employees to work out on their own time.”

With selections such as kettle bells, Fusion and Zumba, the on-demand classes are meant to allow employees a flexible way to work wellness into their busy schedules. WellBeats classes are designed for all fitness levels, and participants can work out on their own time, before and after regularly scheduled group classes.

The DLA Child Development Center, which just received its five-year National Association for the Education of Young Children reaccreditation, will soon start construction on its playgrounds, said Cherise Gordon, CDC program manager. Plans are in the works to renovate and modernize the playground areas in three phases scheduled to be complete by spring 2016.

The CDC’s kindergarten and preschool playgrounds will receive minor upgrades, such as an additional trike path and nature section, and both areas will receive added storage space. The playground in the kindergarten area will see sand replaced with turf, while the preschool area will use rubber surfacing instead of the current concrete.

“Currently, there isn’t a place to store all of the toys, so we’re going to add more sheds. And we’re going to identify a space to put a trike path, a place where the children can ride around. Because if you don’t put one there, the children are going to build it for you!” Gordon joked.

The CDC’s infant and toddler playground will receive the biggest overhaul. In addition to a trike path, new rubber surfacing and storage sections, it will also receive new play equipment and swings, making the area more age-appropriate.

“In the current space, there aren’t any toys for older toddlers, so we’re going to add an area for them,” Gordon said. “And we’re going to do a situation where we’re aging out, so when you come out of the doors where the younger infants are, there will be a fenced-in area so they have room to play. That will be for the six months to one-year age group, those that have just started walking.”

As construction begins, Gordon said parents should be aware of the potential parking restrictions during the removal and revamping of the playground and its equipment.

Other upcoming MWR programs include the addition of a Travel Fair, scheduled for Oct. 21, and several running seminars scheduled throughout the fall.

A new playground renovation at the Defense Logistics Agency Child Development Center is scheduled to be complete by spring 2016. In addition to a trike path, new rubber surfacing and storage sections, the CDC’s infant and toddler playground will also receive new play equipment and swings, making the area more age-appropriate.

The HQC Fitness Center’s WellBeats virtual exercise kiosk has finished its pilot program and can now be used by all participants. With almost 100 class formats to choose from, such as kettle bells, Fusion and Zumba, participants can choose classes that work for them and their schedules.