The Gym Fiasco

The ruination of the gym/training room is one element of the 305 Dutton Street saga that has been left out thus far. Upon first moving into the complex, the gym was a very bright spot in choosing this complex. I am not a “hard core” trainer, however, I do enjoy an occasional run or weight-lifting to keep toned and in shape. Considering that 305 Dutton Street is on the higher end of the rent-spectrum for Lowell, it seemed like a perk worth a little extra in rent.

It must have been late fall when the well-meaning building manager decided to “upgrade” the two TVs in the gym. The other two were fine, as far as I was concerned. They were tubes and probably about 24 inches. It’s just a gym and for what they were used for, it was fine.

One day I walked into the gym and noticed construction on two walls. By the end of the day, the older TVs were removed and replaced by brand-new 30 inch, wall-mounted wide-screens. I remember saying, “Well, that’s nice. But I think I would have preferred if they replaced some of the old, squeaking gym equipment rather than spending money on TVs.”

Begin Fiasco

Within the very same week of the new TV installation, I went into the gym and one was gone from the wall. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the cable had been clipped and it was off the wall. Apparently, someone had STOLEN the brand new flat-screen. In one week we’d gone from two old TVs in the gym to two brand new TVs in the gym to now only one TV in the gym. My question is, At this point, why was the old TV not put up to replace the stolen one?

Then, a month later, we were given one of our lovely memos that the gym would be locked at all times and to use it, one must obtain a key from the “security guard” or “building manager.” While this works fairly tolerably for evenings, it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to obtain the key for the gym between 7AM-9AM, which is a great work-out time before leaving for work.

Then, a month or so later, the second flat-screen was removed from the gym (I don’t know if this was building management or yet another internal theft in our building). Now the gym is just difficult to access and without TV. Frankly, I’m not into working out while staring at my reflection in the mirror or making small talk with the person on the next machine. I don’t know why the other smaller, original TVs (obviously less enticing to our burglars) were not put up to replace the waste-of-money that were the new flat-screens. Seems like yet another example of building management missing the mark.