The new addition constitutes the realization of the county’s original vision for the recreation center, which was supposed to include an additional gym in 2006 but lacked the funding. Now, courtesy of the Tuscaloosa County Commission, the center’s gym has been largely gutted and outfitted with a host of new fitness equipment. Other new amenities include a 35-foot-tall indoor play unit and party room, a 25-foot-tall climbing wall and two racquetball courts. The expansion also contains new offices and storage space.
These changes add to the facility’s pre-existing offerings, which includes two indoor pools, an indoor track, a multipurpose room and a catering kitchen. The second level also hosts the Taylor Brown Public Library.
“You really have to see it to believe it,” said Rebecca Booker, public relations and marketing manager of the Tuscaloosa County Parks & Recreation Authority.
Located at 300 Bobby Miller Parkway in Taylorville, near Shelton State Community College and Hillcrest High School, the reopening ceremony took place May 28. In addition, the center will be offering free admission during the month of June.
“For our residents to have access to these facilities will have a most positive impact in the lives of the whole county,” Tuscaloosa County Commissioner Bobby Miller said of the renovation.
Miller said he is hopeful that the center will provide physical and cultural enrichment to the community and help people congregate around their well-being.
“[The renovation] will bring many more people into the center from all over Tuscaloosa County, who did not have access to this kind of equipment before,” he said, adding that he anticipates it becoming the most trafficked facility in the county.
