Fitness center near Ninth and Iowa undertaking major expansion; group working to create a local currency

I’ve been trying to tell you this: I’m a trendsetter. I’m ahead of the times. For decades, I’ve been spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. Now, it is the hot new thing in the world of exercise.

If you don’t believe me, check out the work that is underway at Lawrence’s Body Boutique. The women-only gym near Ninth and Iowa streets is undergoing a $700,000 renovation, and a big part of it is to add a new indoor cycling studio.

Lorinda Hartzler, the gym’s owner, told me Body Boutique is expanding into 8,000 square feet of vacant space in the Hillcrest Shopping Center that is between the gym’s existing location and Crimson & Brews, a local tavern where I have perhaps spun my wheels once or twice.

The expansion will have several elements, but a big part of it will be a new 30-station indoor cycling studio that will feature the brand-name Spinner bikes. The studio also will feature a large video screen that will give riders the sense they are traveling through scenic areas, such as a trail up Mount Everest or along the path of the Iditarod dog sled race. (A word of caution on that one: I’ve found that my polar bear-lined biking shorts often cause chafing.)

The expansion project also will include:

• A tripling of the gym’s weight room and fitness floor space;

• An expanded child care area;

• Additional room for barre training. (It is different than the type of bar training at Crimson & Brews.)

• Space for a nutrition club called Total Body Nutrition;

• An area for a new youth fitness program that will provide training for both girls and boys ranging from toddlers to teenagers.

“We have a program now that is more of an active play program, but we really want to have a program for children who feel like they are not athletic,” said Hartlzer, who has owned the gym for the last 20 years. “They may never be on a soccer team or a swim team or a wrestling league, but we want them to understand they can still be healthy and fit and strong, even if they don’t feel athletic.”

Work has just started on the expansion project, and Hartzler hopes the new space will be ready to open in June. Hartzler said without the expansion the club was going to have to start capping its membership. She said the fitness movement in Lawrence remains strong, and said it has grown to be about more than just a physical workout.

“When I built this existing space 10 years ago, people just wanted to get in and get out,” Hartzler said. “But our members are becoming more social than they’ve ever been. We’re designing a lot of space just for people to socialize.”

In other news and notes from around town:

• Perhaps I’ve been a trendsetter in another way too: I’ve long tried to pay for things with something other than dollars. My success rate has been a bit limited, but perhaps I just haven’t figured out the right system. There is a group of Lawrence residents who are trying to figure out how to create a Lawrence currency.

The Lawrence Community Currency Initiative is meeting at 6:30 p.m. today at the Delaware Street Commons common house, 816 E. 13th St. The meeting will feature a presentation by Ali Rosenblatt, who has helped launch a local currency program in Los Angeles.

The idea behind local currencies is that businesses and individuals agree to accept something other than U.S. dollars for goods and services and wages and such. There are communities that have them, and, of course, bitcoin is an example of alternative currency that has been getting a lot of media attention.

If you have been in Lawrence long enough, you may remember that Lawrence had a local currency for a time in the 1990s. It was called Lawrence’s REAL Dollar. There were some businesses that accepted it, but it eventually faded away as the places where you could spend the REAL dollar were a bit limited.

Lawrence resident Michael Almon was around for the REAL dollar effort, and he is part of the current initiative. Almon said the options for creating a local currency are far greater today than they were in the 1990s. The idea of having an electronic-based currency, for example, is much more feasible.

Who knows whether this idea will get off the ground in Lawrence, but if it is going to get off the ground anywhere in Kansas, we’re probably the place. Almon said about 10 to 20 people have been attending meetings of the group.

“The idea isn’t to replace the dollar,” Almon said. “It would be complementary. We think it would tend to support more local businesses and might help businesses who are dealing with local suppliers.”

• Speaking of trends, perhaps one trend will be upscale pizza in downtown Lawrence. We reported recently on plans for a local group to open Limestone Pizza Kitchen & Bar. Well, now I’m hearing in certain downtown circles that another pizza and wine bar restaurant is seriously considering downtown Lawrence. This is still unconfirmed, so take this for whatever you think it is worth, but I hear that Coal Vines, a pizza and wine bar that has a location on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., among other locations, is strongly considering opening a spot in downtown Lawrence. In fact, I hear they’ve settled on a location, but I want to get more on that before I pass it along. I’ll let you know when I hear more.

Fitness center near Ninth and Iowa undertaking major expansion; group working to create a local currency

I’ve been trying to tell you this: I’m a trendsetter. I’m ahead of the times. For decades, I’ve been spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. Now, it is the hot new thing in the world of exercise.

If you don’t believe me, check out the work that is underway at Lawrence’s Body Boutique. The women-only gym near Ninth and Iowa streets is undergoing a $700,000 renovation, and a big part of it is to add a new indoor cycling studio.

Lorinda Hartzler, the gym’s owner, told me Body Boutique is expanding into 8,000 square feet of vacant space in the Hillcrest Shopping Center that is between the gym’s existing location and Crimson & Brews, a local tavern where I have perhaps spun my wheels once or twice.

The expansion will have several elements, but a big part of it will be a new 30-station indoor cycling studio that will feature the brand-name Spinner bikes. The studio also will feature a large video screen that will give riders the sense they are traveling through scenic areas, such as a trail up Mount Everest or along the path of the Iditarod dog sled race. (A word of caution on that one: I’ve found that my polar bear-lined biking shorts often cause chafing.)

The expansion project also will include:

• A tripling of the gym’s weight room and fitness floor space;

• An expanded child care area;

• Additional room for barre training. (It is different than the type of bar training at Crimson & Brews.)

• Space for a nutrition club called Total Body Nutrition;

• An area for a new youth fitness program that will provide training for both girls and boys ranging from toddlers to teenagers.

“We have a program now that is more of an active play program, but we really want to have a program for children who feel like they are not athletic,” said Hartlzer, who has owned the gym for the last 20 years. “They may never be on a soccer team or a swim team or a wrestling league, but we want them to understand they can still be healthy and fit and strong, even if they don’t feel athletic.”

Work has just started on the expansion project, and Hartzler hopes the new space will be ready to open in June. Hartzler said without the expansion the club was going to have to start capping its membership. She said the fitness movement in Lawrence remains strong, and said it has grown to be about more than just a physical workout.

“When I built this existing space 10 years ago, people just wanted to get in and get out,” Hartzler said. “But our members are becoming more social than they’ve ever been. We’re designing a lot of space just for people to socialize.”

In other news and notes from around town:

• Perhaps I’ve been a trendsetter in another way too: I’ve long tried to pay for things with something other than dollars. My success rate has been a bit limited, but perhaps I just haven’t figured out the right system. There is a group of Lawrence residents who are trying to figure out how to create a Lawrence currency.

The Lawrence Community Currency Initiative is meeting at 6:30 p.m. today at the Delaware Street Commons common house, 816 E. 13th St. The meeting will feature a presentation by Ali Rosenblatt, who has helped launch a local currency program in Los Angeles.

The idea behind local currencies is that businesses and individuals agree to accept something other than U.S. dollars for goods and services and wages and such. There are communities that have them, and, of course, bitcoin is an example of alternative currency that has been getting a lot of media attention.

If you have been in Lawrence long enough, you may remember that Lawrence had a local currency for a time in the 1990s. It was called Lawrence’s REAL Dollar. There were some businesses that accepted it, but it eventually faded away as the places where you could spend the REAL dollar were a bit limited.

Lawrence resident Michael Almon was around for the REAL dollar effort, and he is part of the current initiative. Almon said the options for creating a local currency are far greater today than they were in the 1990s. The idea of having an electronic-based currency, for example, is much more feasible.

Who knows whether this idea will get off the ground in Lawrence, but if it is going to get off the ground anywhere in Kansas, we’re probably the place. Almon said about 10 to 20 people have been attending meetings of the group.

“The idea isn’t to replace the dollar,” Almon said. “It would be complementary. We think it would tend to support more local businesses and might help businesses who are dealing with local suppliers.”

• Speaking of trends, perhaps one trend will be upscale pizza in downtown Lawrence. We reported recently on plans for a local group to open Limestone Pizza Kitchen & Bar. Well, now I’m hearing in certain downtown circles that another pizza and wine bar restaurant is seriously considering downtown Lawrence. This is still unconfirmed, so take this for whatever you think it is worth, but I hear that Coal Vines, a pizza and wine bar that has a location on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., among other locations, is strongly considering opening a spot in downtown Lawrence. In fact, I hear they’ve settled on a location, but I want to get more on that before I pass it along. I’ll let you know when I hear more.