Dale Cordes grimaces as he lifts 450 pounds with his legs in the weight and cardiovascular room of the new YMCA Tuesday, opening day for the center at 267 YMCA Place off East Clay Street. Cordes said the new facilities are ideal for a full body workout . “Everything was so spread out in the old Y, I am loving it all in one room now.” (The Vicksburg Post/Melanie Duncan)

{09/04/02]Good news for those who want to work out: The building designed for people to work out is working out.

The new Dr. William Kendricks Purks YMCA Center at 267 YMCA Place officially opened its doors Tuesday at 6 a.m.

“It was a good opening day,” said Herb Wilkinson, YMCA general director.

“We are working out the minor kinks in the building,” he said, “the building is working out very well.”

Peter Hall, a 25-year Y member, said the facility that replaces the Y’s Downtown Fitness Center is a first-class operation.

“We needed it,” he said. “It should have been built 20 years ago. Baby boomers are getting fat and have to work out to live longer and this is the place to do it.”

John Mazzeo, another member, said the new facility off East Clay Street is like night and day compared to the old one. “This is like the health clubs I used to go to in Washington, D.C.,” he said.

The new Y follows a years-long capital fund drive named in honor of Howard Miller, a long-time board member, and spearheaded by Fred Farrell and other community industrialists and leaders.

The 79-year-old Y at 821 Clay was built after a bequest from Fannie Willis Johnson in honor of her husband. It has closed and is to be converted into apartments by the new owner.

The board decided to name the new facility after Dr. William K. “Bill” Purks, a Y supporter and Vicksburg physician for more than half of a century.

Purks died April 5, 2001, at the age of 95.

Alvin Stimage, a trainer at the Y for 13 years, said he likes the fact that the new Y is more efficient for all members, including members with physical disabilities.

“We have a member who comes in a motorized cart,” Stimage said, “and he can get between the machines and is able to use them and get a good workout.”

The new Y features:

An 8,000-square-foot gymnasium, equipped for volleyball and basketball

A 3,500-square-foot cardiovascular center

A 3,000-square-foot meeting room space

An indoor swimming pool

Group exercise room

Dressing rooms/ showers/ sauna

Whirlpool on pool deck

Racquetball court

Child-care center

YMCA central offices for the organization’s two branches in Warren County and 106-acre camp in Claiborne County

Special-needs locker rooms

The cost to become a member is:

Family citywide: $50 monthly or $600 annually

Individual adult: $32 monthly or $384 annually

Combination: $44 monthly or $528 annually

All plans require a one-time joining fee of $75. The above memberships include access to all Purks YMCA facilities and programs and all branch facilities and programs. The memberships also include discounts on camps and other special activities sponsored by the Y.

The new Y also has other special plans for students, senior adults and senior couples.

Wilkinson said the new Y has gotten a tremendous response and he encouraged non-members to tour.

Operating hours are from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sunday.