YOKOSUKA, Japan - Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka’s Purdy Fitness Center is scheduled to begin the next phase of a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, or HVAC, system overhaul this month.
This work includes a temporary closure of the fitness facility starting February 10.
The upgrade, which began in April 2024, is the first significant renovation to the gym’s ventilation system since the facility opened in 2006.
This phase includes a second equipment move, shifting the pool’s access to the outdoor stairwell, and constructing a temporary changing area and shower facility.
Some base community members may have already seen the start of this phase’s work and continue to see the transition throughout February and into early March.
Mike Motohashi is the CFA Yokosuka Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Athletics Fitness Program Director in the James D. Kelly Fleet Recreation Center. He’s been working in the James D. Kelly Fleet Recreation Center since 2012, and has had an essential role ensuring the Purdy Fitness Center can provide as much of its services as possible since the HVAC project began.
“Converting Sanban Tower’s community room into a fitness facility was very well received,” said Motohashi of last year’s move. “We’re fortunate that we’ll be able to keep that community room an alternative fitness site to continue to serve our Sailors and community and allow us to purchase new equipment for Purdy.”
To begin this second phase, Purdy is scheduled to close February 10 and reopen February 18. This is to move equipment currently staged on the second floor and bring it down to the first floor.
“The heavy lifting is right around Valentine’s Day, but there will still be a lot of moving pieces until the third week of February,” Motohashi said. “And a lot of that affects the pool specifically.”
Purdy’s contractors will need access to some additional spaces for duct work. This means the Pool Office will relocate to an Admin Office. This move is expected to be complete in mid-February.
The male and female locker rooms located on the second floor are also set to be unavailable. A contracted team is scheduled to build a changing space designed to withstand Yokosuka’s winds and Spring rain.
Purdy Fitness Center opened January 18, 2006, three years after construction started. The original design contract was awarded in 2000. Meaning the almost 18-year-old facility is based on older building codes, some of which were written more than 10 years before the gym’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In 2022, a design-build contract worth $15 million was awarded to bring Purdy’s HVAC system up to modern-day expectations.
The upgrade extends beyond the gym. Environmental concerns prompted a separate contract to replace outdated refrigerants with eco-friendly options across the base. These improvements include replacing a chiller in the Duncan Street Child Development Center and enhancing air quality standards crucial for childcare.
Unaccompanied Housing, or UH, is also set to receive significant attention. Under the direction of the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, UH will receive higher levels of funding than the program had typically received in some cases. In particular, CFAY UH Building 1530, a community residence for single Sailors, has a $15 million renovation scheduled to refit major mechanical and electrical systems.
After it’s 2006 grand opening, Purdy Fitness Center spent it’s first year going by the unofficial moniker “New Thew Gym,” according to a January 26, 2007 Seahawk-Umitaka article by Keiichi Adachi of CFAY Public Affairs. The gym was formally named Purdy Fitness Center during a cake cutting ceremony in January 2017 after George I. Purdy. Purdy, also known as “Mister Navy,” was an iconic Yokosuka community member who had received the Third Class Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan in 1985 for his contributions to the U.S.-Japan alliance when he served under General Douglas MacArthur. Purdy and his wife, Midori, hosted an annual rigid-hull inflatable boat race in Green Bay Marina where the LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship he commanded had once moored. Mister Navy passed away in 2000.
For more information, please contact Purdy Fitness Center at 243-5398.
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2025 20:15 |
| Story ID: | 490218 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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