Albany SamFit Receives Permits Needed to Rebuild June 16, 2023 It’s been a long road to recovery for the Albany SamFit location after experiencing a structure fire last fall. While the fire itself was contained to the women’s locker room, the smoke damage to the entire interior of the building was catastrophic. Due to the significant smoke damage, the facility has been subject to extensive review with the City of Albany. “As you can imagine with projects like these more issues can be discovered with each layer that is peeled back,” said SamFit Director Alyssa Wink. “As a result, the cost and extent of the damages mounted to a level that made us subject to more permitting and reviews.” A key step in getting construction into full swing was securing additional required permits for floodplain zoning, electrical upgrades and fire preparedness. “We are excited to share that all permits have officially been issued and we are finalizing timelines with our contractors,” said Wink. “We understand that the unknown and waiting has been a challenge for our members. We want to have the facility fully restored and back open, too!” As SamFit works toward identifying a grand reopening date for the facility, it is excited to be able to open the parking lot for pop-up classes. These classes will be offered every Wednesday, beginning June 28, until the building can reopen (weather permitting). Class options will include cardio dance, Pilates, kettlebell, yoga, total body conditioning and mobility. The class schedule can be found under classes at SamFit.org. Here are a few things members can expect to see when they first reenter the Albany location: Brand new women’s locker room with additional vanity space. Many new pieces of fitness equipment. Functional fitness area. New sound systems. More natural lighting. The SamFit team is looking forward to reconnecting with the Albany community as soon as possible. Until then, active Albany members that were displaced by the fire can continue to use other SamFit locations in Lebanon, Corvallis and Newport as well as the Mid-Willamette Valley YMCA. As the team continues to work behind the scenes toward a reopening, they are asking members to share inspirational messages to be used throughout the facility as well as input on class offerings through an online survey.
