McCORDSVILLE — The much-anticipated Hancock Wellness Center is set to open next month after rain delayed construction for several months on the $8 million physical fitness facility in McCordsville.
Hancock Regional Hospital’s second wellness center site, 8505 N. Clearview Drive, will serve as a satellite to the Greenfield facility. The McCordsville center originally was slated to open last fall, and then the schedule was bumped to the start of the new year, said Rob Matt, the hospital’s chief operating officer. Now, a Feb. 1 grand opening has been tentatively set.
The 37,000-square-foot facility will serve as a hub for physical fitness and medical care for the county’s north side, offering workout equipment for area residents as well as physical therapy and rehabilitation services to clients with medical needs.
Shipments of workout equipment are set to arrive next week, and more than 1,200 people have already signed up for memberships, said David Flench, director of Hancock Wellness Center. Members of the Greenfield center have automatic membership.
Hospital officials are working to hire instructors for the new center’s calendar of physical fitness classes and spreading the word about close-to-home physical therapy and rehabilitation services.
Once the new equipment in place and a final coat of paint has dried on the walls, the center will be ready to go after more than a year of work, Flench said. Plans for the facility were announced in 2014, and construction began shortly after, but construction was repeatedly delayed, first during weeks of severe winter weather in early 2015 and then by rain as the year drew to a close.
Flench doesn’t anticipate any additional interruptions.
The facility ended up costing about $8 million, Flench said.
Much like its Greenfield counterpart, located at on 888 W. New Road, the Hancock Wellness Center in McCordsville will feature strength and cardio fitness equipment, and areas for exercise, including full basketball courts and a walking track.
The McCordsville center will house two swimming pools — one that will serve as a regulation-length lap pool and one that to be heated to 90 degrees and used for warm-water therapy.
The center provides all the amenities of a commercial gym with the added benefit of medical professionals who can cater to patients whose rehabilitation includes physical activity, Flench said. Workout specialists and on-site physical therapists will lead patients with exercise care plans through their therapy, and urgent-care doctors will be on hand for other health concerns.
The center’s opening aligns with McCordsville’s growth plans as well, town councilman Larry Longman said. The center’s location fills a gap along the County Road 600W corridor the town has been working to build up, he said.
Residents are buzzing about the facility, too, Longman said. Fitness options in McCordsville are limited, and the therapy the center will offer includes services residents often commuted to other areas to receive, Longman said.
“Everybody is fired up,” he said. “In a perfect world, it would have been open already.”