BRECKENRIDGE – The men’s and women’s locker rooms at the Breckenridge Recreation Center were reopened to the public Monday after a six-week closure for renovations.

The aging locker rooms got an approximately $320,000 make-over that included new lighting, floors, colors, benches and dividers. Individual shower stalls have been put in the men’s room, and all the lockers have been replaced with a larger model.

“The whole look and feel of the locker rooms is different. It’s definitely more like a spa feel now,” said Helen Cospolich, marketing coordinator for the Breckenridge recreation department. “Our other locker rooms were built when the facility was constructed back in the early ’90s and kind of had that early ’90s look and feel. It was time to update.”

The remodel was listed as one of several long-term projects slated for the recreation center after an evaluation of the facility a few years ago. The project was funded through the town’s capital improvement projects budget, a fund that covers capital projects on a priority basis with revenues from the real estate transfer tax.

“We’re reinvesting in the infrastructure,” said Tom Daugherty, asst. public works director for Breckenridge. “We need to keep what we’ve got in good shape.”

The renovations will also make the locker rooms more efficient and sustainable. New lockers and bath and shower partitions installed during the remodel are made of 28 percent recycled materials. Old light bulbs were exchanged for more efficient models and longer-lasting ceramic tile was installed. The showers are now set on timers to save water and keep guests conscious of how much time they spend in the shower.

In early October, the center also repainted throughout the facility, put in new weight equipment upstairs and resurfaced the indoor tennis courts as part of its regular annual maintenance. The upkeep projects were funded through the center’s facilities budget.

“We’ve got thousands of people who come through our facility. We need to keep it up to par,” Cospolich said of the renovations.

An additional $125,000 was allocated in Breckenridge’s capital budget for next year to cover another recreation center project: the construction of high netting around the softball fields at the center.

The netting was commissioned to protect the roof of the recreation center, which is in danger of damage by fly balls from the softball field.

“It’s like the home run derby,” Mayor John Warner said of the softball games. “These guys come up from Denver, that’s their goal is to hit the roof.”

SND reporter Caddie Nath can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or at cnath@summitdaily.com.