New floors bring new life to gym, dance room, and racquetball courts at Rec Center
Fort Walton Beach, Florida – Renovations are well underway at the Fort Walton Beach Recreation Center. Since May 19, the gym, dance room, and two racquetball courts have been closed for a large resurfacing project. The normal hum of activity has been replaced by the continuous whir of sanding equipment and the fragrance of new wood behind locked doors. This is because crews from the Covington Floor Company in Birmingham are completely redoing the flooring in the building.
By this week, workers had already finished the hard work of sanding the entire 9,100-square-foot gym floor down to the bare maple. The old surface is gone, now it’s time for a fresh start. New court lines for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball have been painted, so the courts will appear sharp and new when the athletes come back. What is the last thing that has to be done at center court? The new FWB365 Live, Work, Play logo for the Recreation Center sets the tone for a venue that is as much about community as it is about competitiveness.
Eric Fuller, the contractor, said that the next stage is to put on five coats of polyurethane finishes to seal and protect the new woodwork. This last step is very important since it takes time for each coat to dry completely and makes sure that the newly painted surfaces can handle years of play, dance, and other activities.
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The improvements should be done quickly if everything goes according to plan and the timeline is well-coordinated. The gym, dance room, and racquetball courts should be ready to welcome the public again on Monday, June 9, if all goes as planned.
While regular visitors have had to adjust their routines for a few weeks, the payoff is expected to be well worth the wait—a safer, more attractive, and altogether improved space for everyone who relies on the Rec Center for exercise, fun, and community connection.
