The Beverly J. Warren Recreation and Wellness center turned 20 years old this past April. A building refresh project is in order to give it a new and updated look.

The remodeling has already begun, but won’t fully be finished until at least the fall of 2020, said Marketing Coordinator Jim Kraus. Renovations don’t happen often so they want to make sure that any updates will last for years to come.

“We wanted to give the Rec Center more of a look and feel of Kent State,” Kraus said. “We painted the ceilings and walls gold and changed the carpeting to give it a newer feeling.” 

Concerns about how the updates will interfere with students have already been raised. Nicole Miller, a senior zoology major, said even the little changes they have made have put some of her workouts to a halt. 

“They blocked off the circuit area for a couple of days which is where I spend most of my workout at,” Miller said. “I’m curious to see how they will do the main weight areas without blocking off a lot of equipment.” 

The new building refresh project hopes to include new equipment in the weight and circuit areas. Group X classes and new fitness programs will also be available for students to take advantage of. 

According to James Kraus, the Rec Center marketing coordinator, they plan to move equipment over to the hallways so that students can still get to the machines. 

“We are going to try to keep the impact as minimal as possible,” Kraus said. “Hopefully just relocate everything, and maybe bring in some new equipment when everything is all said and done.”

Contact Sarah Arnold at [email protected].