New, upgraded facilities at Glenwood Village in Riverhead
Brian Stark looked around the new fitness center at Glenwood Village Wednesday and reflected on its past.
“It was like working out in your father’s basement,” said Mr. Stark, the president of Stark Homes.
His goal, he said, was to turn the fitness center at the 120-acre home retirement community in Riverhead into something on par with a hotel gym. “I want to replicate a high-end hotel,” he said.
Mr. Stark presided over a grand opening of the newly renovated and expanded clubhouse, where the new fitness center was just one of the improvements made to the facility. Mr. Stark’s father, Bruce, and Uncle Doug of Stark Homes founded the retirement community in 1959, and Mr. Stark began to add manufactured homes in 2014 that are customizable and loaded with high-end finishes like granite countertops, crown molding and hardwood floors.
The clubhouse was built in 1965 and expanded in 1994. Mr. Stark felt it was time to up the amenities there, too, to compete with the area condos that appeal to those 55-and-older. They added 2,200 square feet, which includes an expanded dance floor in the main meeting room, new chandeliers, the “Map Room” for billiards, a library with a cozy sitting area around a gas fireplace and the fitness center with key card access for all resident members.
He consulted with local fitness instructor Frank Zagarino on the kind of machines to purchase for the fitness center that would be durable. He purchased five cardio machines, sit down ellipticals, recumbent bikes and Hoist weight machines.
Glenwood Recreation Club president Catherine Eyester said that they have 200-300 members. The clubhouse has been closed since last fall for the renovation and expansion.
“We are very happy to have it open again,” she said. “We missed meeting with each other. We are going to party. Party Hardy!”
Photo Caption: Scotty Robertson (left) and John Machalski shoot a round of pool in the new “Map Room” at Glenwood Village. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
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