Cheshire Fitness Zone will now be expanding its services to incorporate a new indoor swimming pool for clients.
The plans for such an addition were presented to and approved by the Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb 16.
“The applicant is looking to have a building addition for a pool, for therapeutic and aquatic services,” said Scott Nolan, civil engineer from SLR Consulting. “We are conforming to the 12-foot setback to Maple Avenue, and the 26-foot setback to George Avenue. The building addition will not impact any sort of access to the site, and the addition is also in conformance with the building lot coverage, per the regulations.”
Cheshire Fitness Zone, owned by Craig Goldstein, is located at 382 South Main Street, however the new pool will be located at a facility on George Avenue, near Cheshire Orthopedic and Rehab. Goldstein’s business has operated in town for over 20 years. Its first location was in the Watch Factory Shoppes.
The business helps students and adolescents of all ages and abilities address various physical, occupational, and speech therapeutic needs while maintaining a fun and energetic atmosphere.
“We have been using the local Cheshire Community pool for some time now, but since the pandemic we haven’t had the kind of access we normally would,” explained Goldstein. “The opportunity came up for us to purchase some land and build a pool, and we are so excited about it!”
Cheshire Fitness Zone offers many different therapeutic programs, many of which will be able to utilize the new pool.
“Buoyancy is really effective in offsetting gravity for some kids, and helps them walk or move better in the water than they would on land,” Goldstein explained. “We even will utilize (it) for doing different speech therapy in the pool. Something like a different setting can really help kids grasp difficult concepts in a new way.”
The building addition will be added to the front of the property, rather than the rear or side, according to the plan.
Commissioner Louis Todisco asked Nolan to clarify how parking issues will be addressed at Cheshire Fitness Zone, given the addition.
“(Cheshire Fitness) share 16 parking spaces with the adjacent properties to the northeast,” Nolan explained. “But we are not proposing any changes to the parking lot or the spaces. All of that is remaining the same as it was, even with the addition.”
Commissioner EJ Kurtz III asked Nolan to explain how the applicant plans to address additional runoff during inclement weather.
“We’ve also added additional equipment to accommodate the increase in runoff — after the independent review and engineering comments, this was suggested,” he said. “The roof would run off into the additional underground chambers.”
Scott Tansley, business owner of the adjacent building to Cheshire Fitness Zone, was unsure where the parking spots were located within the two properties.
“Where are there 16 parking spots?” he asked.
“While it’s not clearly delineated with the striping (on the property), it’s been determined that there are 15 spots on the northern side of the building,” Nolan said. “And the one is the accessible space which is on the southwest corner.”
Once Kurtz closed the public hearing, he commented that, in his view, the new pool seemed like a good fit for the business.
The motion passed unanimously. It is Goldstein’s hope that the new pool will be available for his clients to use at the end of the summer.
