A revived rec club has been called “exclusive” and “expensive”, but the facility’s new owners say the fees and limited opening hours are necessary to cover operating costs.
The former Peregian Springs Rec Club has been brought back to life as the St Andrew’s Recreation Centre, after nearby St Andrew’s Anglican College stepped in and purchased it.
The venue was shut down in October, after developer Aveo Group’s 10-year agreement to own and operate it came to an end.
About 1350 homeowners within the Ridges estate, who had paid an annual levy to Aveo for exclusive access, were offered the chance to buy it and take on the costs but a vote among them failed and it was put on the market.
St Andrew’s announced in early April it had bought the property, which includes a pool, gym, tennis courts and barbecue facilities, along with retail space leased by a cafe.
The college on Tuesday announced further details, including membership fees and opening hours for the venue, which will re-open in May.
The schedule of fees for members is $36 per fortnight or $234 per quarter, while guests can pay $5.10 to $6.10 to visit the pool alongside a member. The pool is available for three hours on weekday mornings and longer on weekends.
The chairman of the Ridges principal body corporate, Roger Cook, said the facilities would be unable to be utilised by many.
“A family of four could be looking at paying $3500 to $4000 a year,” he said.
“That’s significantly more than what we were paying under the old scheme (a levy for Ridges homeowners) when it was $750 a year for an entire household, and they could take guests.
“And there is quite restrictive access, with no opportunities for children to swim after school.
“The principal said it was going to be open to the public, but it actually seems like it is quite an exclusive, expensive members club.”
A St Andrew’s spokesperson said the fees were necessary to keep the club running.
“The costs of the memberships reflect the costs of keeping a facility like this open,” they said.
“As everyone is feeling, the costs of everything are rising and we are not immune to this.
“As a school running an aquatic centre, there are also extra requirements placed on us during opening hours, including additional staffing and lifeguards.”
The spokesperson said the limited pool hours were also necessary.
“Again, this comes down to operational feasibility and staffing costs,” they said.
“We set the opening hours based on the times with the highest usage.
“Memberships also include access to the college aquatic centre, which adds a further three to four hours of usage during the day, but changes from week to week.”
St Andrew’s already has a first-class aquatic centre on campus, but the spokesperson said the rec centre pool would be of significant added benefit.
“Our college and the programs we deliver are continually growing and expanding,” they said.
“The use of the rec club adds additional ability to expand the high-quality programs we offer to more students and the extended community, specifically our sporting and aquatic programs.”
The gym is being moved to a smaller area in the building, but the college said there were otherwise “no plans in the near future to redevelop any aspects of the rec centre and it will continue to be open to the public”.
The popular cafe will continue its lease and be open to all.
Mr Cook said he did an estimate on costs for a members club last year, when Ridges homeowners considered buying the property. He anticipated it would cost members about $3500 to $4000 per active swipe card per year, with Aveo retaining rental yield from the retail space.
Instead, Ridges homeowners were presented with the chance to buy and operate the facility, by essentially increasing their levy from about $750 to $790, with Aveo to retain rental income from the retail area for the next 30 years. But a vote among the homeowners to do so fell just short, so the levy was basically discarded and Aveo put the club on the market.
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