A rendering shows what the proposed park could look like. (Council agenda package/City of P.A.)

By Alison Sandstrom

New recreation

Outdoor fitness park planned for Alfred Jenkins Field House

Jan 14, 2021 | 8:00 AM

A proposed 6,000 sq. ft. fitness park hopes to provide P.A. residents a fun, free, outdoor place to exercise.

The new facility will be located at the the Alfred Jenkins Field House on the south-east side of the facility. Potential elements include “extreme circuit equipment” like jump hangs and rope climbs, as well as exercise apparatuses like ellipticals, bikes and crunch bars – all specially built for the outdoor environment.

The cost of the $554,000 facility will be shared between local philanthropist Malcolm Jenkins and the City of P.A.

Councillors’ have tentatively approved the municipality’s $254,000 portion of the project as part of 2021 budget deliberations.

A ‘health and wellness campus’

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Jenkins told paNOW the new park will add another element to the “health and wellness campus” he’s always envisioned the field house site being.

“It fulfills the dream we had early on,” he said.

Jenkins says equipment in the park will be targetted at people thirteen-years and older. (Council agenda package/City of P.A.)

Existing outdoor recreation amenities at the location include the Rotary Trail, soccer fields, the recently-expanded Jump Start Inclusive Playground, and basketball and beach volleyball courts.

The south-east side of the field house, where the fitness park will be built, remains one of the last areas for major development at the site.

“We’re going to put up all kinds of equipment,” Jenkins said. “So people can do a lap of Rotary Trail around the field house, which is one kilometre, and then do workouts at the same time. So you could work up an exercise program outdoors and take advantage of the great setting and the weather.”

An aerial rendering of the proposed park. (Council agenda package/City of P.A.)

Plans to break ground this spring

Jody Boulet, the city’s director of community services, said he’s grateful to Jenkins for his on-going support building out the entire field house site over the past five years, and excited about the new outdoor fitness park.

“This is going to be a major hub of activity in our city,” Boulet said.

Aside from free drop-in options, Boulet said the city is looking forward to running some fitness classes and programming in the space. The city’s fitness instructors will be consulted in deciding what kind of equipment to purchase for the park.

The city hopes to break ground on the project this spring to have it open late this year, Boulet said. A firmer timeline will be available in the coming months.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom