Proposed Wellness Center At Central Regional No Ordinary Gym

What's next?

It's a question Central Regional Schools Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides asks himself on a daily basis.

"You have to think five years down the road," he said in a recent interview.

Parlapanides will have several announcements to make soon about new additions to the 98-acre Central Regional campus off Forest Hills Parkway.

But one project he can talk about now is a multi-million dollar wellness center a private investor wants to build on school property.

Gary Reidy - a managing partner in Princeton-based Fitness and Wellness Professional Services - wants to pour between $26 to $30 million into the project on land the Central Regional school district owns.

The district would lease the property to the firm for 20 years. Once the company has earned back its initial investment, the center would begin to generate revenue for the district through profit sharing, Parlapanides has said.

The fee-based facility would also be open to surrounding towns and could provide 180 jobs in the community, he said.

"It would be open to everybody," Parlapanides said.

And it won't be your standard fitness center, with just fitness equipment and a pool. The project also includes a cardiac rehab, massage therapy and doctors and nurses on staff, he said.

"Unlike a regular gym, when you sign up, you get a full physical," Parlapanides said. "They do bloodwork, everything."

Doctors and fitness trainers will then tailor the type of exercise program needed for each individual, he said.

"After four months, you get another physical," Parlapanides said.

The St. Barnabas Healthcare System would partner with the company to provide doctors and nurses to help staff the facility. Services would include an Olympic-size swimming pool, complete gym facilities,  cardiac rehab, physical therapy, a therapy pool, a wide variety of fitness classes, personalized health and fitness assessments, wellness programs and lectures, a restaurant, and a daycare center, he said.

The fee-based wellness center would be open to the public and could provide up to 180 jobs for the community, Parlapanides said.

The center will consist of one 50,000-70,000-square foot building, with two, possibly three stories, he said.

Reidy is finishing up wellness centers in several other New Jersey communities. Once he is done with those, he will turn his attention to Central Regional, hopefully by the end of the summer, Parlapanides said.