The Upper Lasell Fitness Center will be renovated over the summer. The College announced the closure on May 1; it will begin June 5 and is anticipated to last until the beginning of the fall 2023 semester. An anonymous donation will fund the renovation in full. This will be the second anonymous contribution to athletics in the last month, following an unrelated contribution gifted to help restore the Towne Field House.

“Initially developed in 2007, the Fitness Center is in need of updating,” project manager Julie Sniezek wrote in an email to the Record. “Much of the equipment is beyond its useful life and can no longer be maintained efficiently.” Sniezek said that the renovation will include replacing cardio machines, repainting the facility, updating restroom facilities (including the addition of single-user facilities), and re-doing the flooring.

During the renovation, Lower Lasell will remain open and equipment will be moved from Upper Lasell to the Lasell Gymnasium so that it can serve as a temporary fitness facility. Additionally, the locker room will be emptied over the summer as part of what Sniezek described as a “long overdue” reset of the space. Students, faculty, and staff with lockers in Lasell have been asked to vacate them by June 2 and await further information from the athletics department about alternative locker arrangements for the summer.