Two fitness features opened in Noelridge Park

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids-area residents now may enjoy two new additions to a city park.

The two new amenities, a pavilion and a fitness zone, were paid for through donations from Cedar Rapids-based ITC Midwest and the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors. City officials conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.

ITC Midwest, an electric utility company, gave $75,000 to the city of Cedar Rapids for a new pavilion in Noelridge Park near Council Street NE. It replaces the 40-year-old structure that had been next to the lagoon in the park.

The open-air pavilion has a white steel frame and a vented blue roof. It features a serving counter and two large grills for community events.

Sven Leff, city Parks and Recreation Department director, said the previous pavilion was one of the most frequently rented among 24 in the city park system.

The second amenity added was a fitness zone a short distance from the pavilion along the park's walking trail.

The fitness zone consists of seven exercise stations fior activities such as stretching, pull-ups and push-ups, and plyometrics.

The Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors donated $20,000 for the addition, which is among five that will eventually be in various city parks.

The association has donated about $100,000 in five years to build five fitness stations in city parks such as the one in Noelridge Park.

City Council member Scott Olson said the third fitness zone will open in 2017 in Cherry Hill Park on Stoney Point Road NW. Parks and Recreation staff built that fitness zone and the one opened last year in Cherokee Park near Johnson Avenue NW, Leff said.