Fitness center opens in Suncrest

Suncrest can add a fitness center to its growing number of new businesses.

With two days of grand opening celebrations, Suncrest Fitness Center officially opened its doors Feb 16. The 9,700-square-foot building houses both a physical therapy facility – Phase 1 Physical Therapy – and a gym equipped with some of the latest technology. Among the gym equipment is a piece called Jacob’s Ladder, designed for a rigorous lower body workout. According to business co-owner Joel San Nicolas, it is the only machine of its kind in Spokane area. Another piece of equipment called Viper Rope, for upper body workout, also is the only one of its kind in Eastern Washington, he said.

The fitness center also offers a dry aqua massage bed that comes with a control panel that allows the user to customize the massage. The gym also offers child care, sauna, racquetball courts, massages, and soon, an espresso and smoothie bar.

The interior is warm and inviting, decorated with Joel San Nicolas’ collection of sport jerseys signed by star athletes including Lance Armstrong.

The fitness center, off Highway 291, halfway between Suncrest and Tum Tum, is the brainchild of Joel and Jennifer San Nicolas, longtime Suncrest residents.

They built the gym partly out of a desire to better facilitate the physical recovery of the patients that Joel treats as a therapist, but also from their conviction of the importance of physical health for the general public. The Nicolases envison adding a swimming pool and a basketball court down the road. In the meantime, for $38 a month for individuals and $45 per family, the public can join the gym and enjoy all the health benefits that state-of-the-art equipment has to offer.