Springfield Gymnastics Center has a new facility under construction on the west side, but in the meantime, the business will operate out of the former Shop ‘n Save property on the corner of Wabash Avenue and Chatham Road.
“The new building is scheduled to be done next spring,” said co-owner Brad Epperson. “We’ve already broken ground, so the contractors are definitely off and running with it.”
Joyner Construction Services is the general contractor for the 23,800-square-foot building at 3400 Gateway Dr., which will be nearly twice as large as Springfield Gymnastic Center’s current space. SGC has occupied space at 3040 Hamlin Parkway since opening in September 2017.
“The current space was not built for a gymnastics gym,” said Epperson, noting that it was originally an automotive repair shop and later converted to a church. “There’s a benefit to good design, because right now all the different programs are all over the place, and we’re overcrowded.”
When complete, the new facility will have “different areas for the aerial silks, ninja, preschool and teams,” Epperson said. “Each area will be divided by a three-foot wall, so we won’t have little ones running through school-age classes.”
Epperson noted that expansion at the current location has been challenging, such as adding new programs. “Ninja is doing really well, but we didn’t even plan on having that when we first opened,” he said. “Anything else has to get squeezed in because you didn’t plan for it.”
In the meantime, SGC will close its current location as of Aug. 3. “We’re moving to a temporary space because our lease runs out at the end of August,” Epperson said. The business will be closed for a month to allow time for relocation and setup at the former Shop ‘n Save property and reopen on Sept. 3 following Labor Day weekend.
“We’ll have more space over there, so we’ll be spread out a bit better,” said Epperson. “It will be the same great programs and staff, it will just look a bit different.”
The Shop ‘n Save stores on Wabash Avenue and North Grand Avenue closed at the end of 2018. The North Grand property was redeveloped in 2022 and now houses Medics of First Springfield and the Mennonite College of Nursing. Green Family Stores occupied the Wabash Avenue property for a period of time last year while its new dealership on Stanford Avenue was under construction, but it has been largely vacant.
