Posted October 6, 2012 3:25 pm by

  http://healthclubnews-org.knockoutweightlosscoaching.com/The Columbia Lake Health Club is being squeezed out of Waterloo's TechTown facility by UW's growing demands for space. The club will close on Dec. 21.

 HEALTH CLUB NEWS: Members of the popular Columbia Lake Health Club are looking for answers after it was announced Friday the popular fitness centre on the University of Waterloo campus will close for good on Dec. 21.The club is located in the TechTown building in the David Johnston Research and Technology Park. When the building was donated to the University of Waterloo in early August, no changes were expected. That changed Friday.Most other tenants in the facility will remain, but the TechTown Café closes immediately.Tim Jackson, vice-president of university relations, said UW is growing and part of the building is needed for academic space.“Students, staff, faculty needs have to come first,” Jackson said Friday in an interview about the health club’s closure. “We are aware of concerns by clients and members and what we have been doing is we have spoken to other clubs in the community that have capacity and can accommodate our members.“That’s part of the reason why we wanted to give people three months notice of the closure, so they could evaluate those offers from other fitness facilities.” The 60,000-square-foot building, worth an estimated $22.5 million, was donated to the University of Waterloo by local entrepreneur Toby Jenkins in early August.“This is the first thing we have heard since,” said Vince Blair, who has gone to the fitness club nearly every day since 2007.“I am absolutely sad, I am devastated,” he said. “I love this club. I have been going there since right after it opened.”He happily paid high membership fees to take advantage of the superior atmosphere, attentive staff and excellent equipment at the Columbia Lake Health Centre. Blair is worried he will not find another fitness centre that can match the quality.“I don’t know where I am going to go,” Blair said. “It’s a great spot. It just seems heavy-handed. It seems very corporate, cutthroat.”The centre had a large, loyal following that gelled into a community.
“I see them every day, same people, every single day,” Blair said.
The health centre has posted information about the closure on its website.

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http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/812939–columbia-lake-health-club-to-close-in-december/p/div