RecPlex still going strong after 25 years

Mount Prospect resident Marilyn Strenski can feel the difference the RecPlex has made in her life.

"I can still move," said the 80-year-old resident, who discovered the park district's facility when she moved from Chicago. "My knees are flexible. And my arms are flexible."

She credits her mobility to her regular visits to the facility's pool. "Water is great for arthritis."

This year, the Mount Prospect Park District celebrated the 25th anniversary of the RecPlex, 420 Dempster St. It rose on the former site of the Dempster Development Center (DDC), which the park district purchased in 1984, and it held its grand opening on Sept. 14, 1991.

Today, the 93,000-square-foot recreation complex boasts a swimming pool, a triple court gymnasium, two racquetball courts and an indoor track. In addition, there are cardiovascular and strength training stations, room for before- and after-school day care programs and fitness studios, as well as the park district's administrative offices.

Looking at the facility today, it is perhaps hard to believe that this grand vision materialized from such inauspicious foundations.

Just nine years before it opened, in the spring of 1982, it was the site of Dempster Junior High School. The school shuttered that year as a result of declining enrollment, and the park district leased it for the DDC. Encouraged by the public's response, the district bought the building in 1984 for the cost of the land.

It wasn't long before the park district had a serious case of caveat emptor. The building, according to park district's newsletter in 1990, "literally was starting to come apart at its seams."

An outside consultant found roof leaks, a pool experiencing irreparable mechanical failure and a design that left more than 30 percent of the building unusable for recreation. The park district hired architects in the spring of 1987, and residents, DDC users, staff, commissioners and architects put their heads together to envision the new facility.

The fruit included a triple gymnasium to provide space for basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer and gymnastics; an eight-lane pool; three racquetball courts; a fitness center featuring "non-intimidating" aerobic equipment, circuit muscle equipment and a free weight area; a children's program wing; and a multipurpose room accommodating uses ranging from martial arts and fencing to tumbling for children and a practice area for the community band.

"The district's ultimate goal in operations is to provide the district's first self-supporting recreation center through user fees," the newsletter said, noting that the DDC operated at an annual $190,000 subsidy.

The park district approved what it called a unique fee structure, featuring four types of passes.

Thomas Tayler, director of parks and recreation at the time, said, "Our intent was to allow our patrons to choose, 'buffet-style,' the program that best meets their needs without paying an exorbitant initiation fee."

"It was a great addition to the community," said Nancy Prosser, who was at the grand opening and is currently facilities manager for the Mount Prospect Park District.

At the time, she was working at the Lions Park recreation center. "We were one of the first facilities of this type in the area."

As it begins its next 25 years, the complex is just what it advertised - more than just a health club. It is a community gathering place, as Ron La Voie, who has been using it since it opened, can attest.

"I have a bunch of friends in the morning. That's the reason I come," he said. "In a period of 25 years, I have made so many friends there that I can't possibly keep track of all of them."

He goes twice a day, in the morning to use the track and in the afternoon for resistance training.

"When something breaks, you have it fixed immediately," he said. "The employees are nice. The place is always maintained well as far as equipment goes and it's kept clean."

One of the mainstays of the facility has been Fran Zelinski, certified senior fitness specialist, who began working for the park district in 1991.

"People trust me," she said. "I'm careful with them. I understand just even from my own personal perspective what they need and what they require."

Through her work at the RecPlex, she has gained a deep appreciation for the facility.

"We have a beautiful facility," she said. "It is very family oriented. All ages, all shapes, sizes, fitness levels. It has many pools.

"There are all kinds of teams. Soccer and baseball. Summer camps. We just have anything you could think of that a park district could offer."