Deal worked out to keep Burlingame gym open

Sutter Health CEO Janet Wagner said the fitness center will remain open while officials search for another operator to take over the site — a permanent solution for those who claim the gym offers a unique service.

“I know how important it is to all of you to continue to exercise regularly in a well-equipped fitness center such as the one at 1875 Trousdale,” Wagner told those attending a community meeting regarding the fate of the center, according to a statement. “It would be ideal if we can find a partner to keep the fitness center operating.’’

The center also offers physical and occupational therapy as well cardiac rehabilitation services, which are slated to relocate from Burlingame to the Mills Health Center in San Mateo. But the gym was slated to close Wednesday, Feb. 28, until the last minute reprieve was granted.

Sutter Health officials have said the facility needed to shut down to make way for redevelopment proposed by the Peninsula Health Care District, which owns the land where the gym is located. They added the gym cannot relocate along with the other services, because the new location specializes solely in acute care.

Burlingame officials are studying plans by the district to construct between 200 and 300 units of senior housing, 150,000 square feet of health care services, 200,000 square feet of office space and other amenities at and around 1819 Trousdale Drive.

The project is still in its formative design stages and has yet to be approved. Should city officials approve construction, development of the 9.25 acres is expected to take place in five phases built out over 20 years. District CEO Cheryl Fama has said in an email she does not expect work to begin for at least three years, and that Sutter has the building leased through February 2019.

Following word of the gym’s potential closure spreading, patrons flooded a community meeting held last week to advocate for preservation of the facility they claim offers specialized and rare senior health services.

Burt Berenstein said he appreciates the decision to keep the gym open, if only for a temporary amount of time.

“We’re thrilled,” he said. “Everybody that I have spoken to went out and looked for something that would suit their needs and there just wasn’t anything. Other places don’t have the equipment that older folks need.”

His sentiment echoed perspectives shared by patrons frustrated with the gym’s expected closure, as many claimed they appreciated not only the monitored exercise offered at the facility, but also the social gathering opportunities.

Wagner said she hoped a nonprofit organization would ultimately take control of the gym, and expressed a desire to seek out such an organization over the coming months.

“My staff and I will work with the Peninsula Health Care District Board and city officials to identify an appropriate partner,” she said in a prepared statement.

District officials had expressed dissatisfaction with the way news of the gym’s abrupt closure was spread, but claimed their authority in the matter was limited because they did not operate the center.

For his part, Berenstein said he wants the gym to remain permanently, while expressing skepticism such an outcome could be possible.

“Hopefully they’ll find someone else to step up, but I have my doubts they will find anyone,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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