Plush City Recreation Center Could Give Spas a Run for Their Workout

The FBI has investigated the place. So have the executives who work in the high-rise office buildings nearby. And last week, when its doors were formally opened for the first time, more than 100 people stood in line to take a look.

The subject of this intense scrutiny? It’s the city’s newest recreation center, a place so big and so well-equipped that some people are predicting that it will give swanky private health spas a run for their money.

“Once people know about this place, I think it will be packed,” said Stan Kalsman, director of the new Westwood Recreation Center. “Why would anyone spend thousands of dollars to go to a private club when they can come here?” The sprawling, $5.4-million club at 1350 Sepulveda Blvd. has been called the Cadillac of public recreation facilities. It includes an indoor swimming pool large enough to hold about 300 people; two gymnasiums; tennis, racquetball and basketball courts; aerobics facilities; classrooms, and a child-care center.

Its 26-acre grounds also contain several playing fields. Officials say other facilities, such as a weight room, will be added as the center grows.

When it becomes fully operational later this month, the center is expected to draw thousands of people from adjoining offices and neighborhoods, including the FBI agents, who work in the nearby Federal Building.

Kalsman said activity fees will be nominal when contrasted with those charged at private clubs. Swimming will cost $1. Racquetball will be $8.

Al Goldfarb, the Recreation and Parks Department spokesman, said the center stands out among the city’s 150 other recreation facilities because of its amenities, although some have more spacious grounds.

In a community that essentially spawned the health-club culture, the center is being touted as a boon for those who cannot afford private spas, as well as for those who would rather not pay the tab.

The club has also been called a pay-back for the intense commercial development Westwood residents have endured in recent years--it was financed with parks and recreation fees assessed against Westwood-area developers.

State law says the parks and recreation money, known as Quimby funds, must be used in the area where the development occurs. Laura M. Lake, who heads Friends of Westwood, said residents have been desperate for a recreation facility and green space, because the area is so densely packed with buildings.

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents the Westwood area, said that, given the choice, he would rather have fewer high-rises on Wilshire Boulevard and no club. Under the circumstances, however, Yaroslavsky said development-weary residents have gotten a fine facility out of the deal.

“It looks like a private club except that it’s public and you don’t have to pay $3,000 to join it,” he said. “There are a lot of people in West Los Angeles who can’t afford (private clubs). And I’m one of them.”

Recreation and Parks Department officials are obviously hoping that others will feel the same way. Competition for the health-club crowd is fierce, with more than 30 private facilities located on the Westside.

Nanette Pattee Francini, vice president of the Sports Connection, which has clubs in West Hollywood and Santa Monica, doubted whether the Westwood facility would easily draw away people who use private clubs.