The College of Holy Cross Announces Plans for New Rec Center

Image courtesy of CannonDesign

The College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, has announced plans for its Joanne Chouinard-Luth Recreation and Wellness Center, a state-of-the-art hub for collegiate recreation, wellness and intramural sports located on the school’s upper campus.

The 52,000-square-foot building – colloquially referred to as “The Jo” – will offer a wider range of fitness and wellness spaces, including sports, courts, weight rooms, a golf simulator, three rooms for yoga, cycling and fitness, and a one-tenth-mile suspended jogging track. The three-story facility will also be home to club and intramural sports, and house an expanded office for public safety. The facility is being designed by CannonDesign.

“The new facility will more than meet an ever-growing need for a modern fitness and recreation space on campus,” said Michele Murray, the vice president for student affairs and dean of students, in a press release. “We know the vast majority of our students value wellness, and The Jo will be an essential component to the health and wellness of the minds, bodies and spirits of not only students, but the entire Holy Cross community.”

The new recreation center replaces the school’s previous field house, an important building in the college’s history. It served as an important gathering space for recreation, intramural sports and campus life since its creation in 1947, and also hosted dances, commencement ceremonies and a memorable speech from Martin Luther King, Jr. when he visited the campus in 1962.