An outdoor gym will open at Veteran’s Park in Brewer this summer after a donation from Machias Savings Bank, the city said Wednesday.
The fitness park will be at the northern end of the Riverwalk, the city’s popular waterfront walking trail along the Penobscot River. It is expected to be in place by July 4, Brewer Economic Development Director D’Arcy Main-Boyington said.
The gym represents another new development along the Brewer waterfront. The extension of the mile-long Riverwalk to Veteran’s Park was finished in 2019, and construction on a 300-yard extension of the southern end of the trail, starting by Mason’s Brewing, is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023.
The outdoor gym will feature equipment including a sit-up bench, a balance rope, a chain ladder and stations for pull-ups and knee lifts. Twenty people will be able to use the park at one time.
The Brewer City Council approved the project on Tuesday. The city will cover $35,000 of the cost and a $25,000 donation from Machias Savings Bank will cover the rest.
“Many people in our area have been looking for great outdoor recreation spaces, especially since the pandemic hit,” Brewer Mayor Michele Daniels said. “This new fitness park will provide a beautiful space on the waterfront for people wanting to have some fun while they exercise.”
The city will purchase the equipment from GameTime, a playground equipment manufacturer whose Northeast sales manager, Travis Armes, is a Brewer native.
Though a somewhat novel idea, it is not the first outdoor gym in the Bangor area. AARP installed an outdoor fitness center in Bangor’s Broadway Park free of charge in 2019 as part of an effort to encourage fitness and healthy living.
Trainers from Adam Clark Fitness and Bangor Brewer Athletic Club, both in Brewer, will be stationed at the park in the days after the equipment is installed, providing tips on using each item safely and developing a workout routine.
Outdoor recreation has been more popular than ever in Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of only a few social activities relatively unaffected by pandemic restrictions. The Brewer Riverwalk has seen increased traffic as a result, and a number of area gyms have hosted outdoor workouts.