By Zack Sampson, News Staff
The Marino Center will expand this fall when a new cycling and fitness training area called Revolutionz fills the street-level space vacated in 2011 by Nutrition One.
“The space will have indoor cycling classes accompanied by music, lights and virtual ride technology [the instructor can select virtual scenery to appear on the walls],” Northeastern spokeswoman Renata Nyul wrote in an email to The News.
She wrote that the Revolutionz space will also be used for fusion classes. In such sessions, Nyul wrote, a workout could include medicine balls, resistance bands and other equipment. A fusion program could be a session that starts with cycling and ends with the bikes pushed aside for a yoga exercise.
When no classes are scheduled, Revolutionz will be available for general use, Nyul wrote. It is expected to be open by the start of the school year.
Students and anyone with a membership to the Marino Center will be able to use the space. The front entrance to the room on Huntington Avenue will be removed.
The university is funding the renovations out of its budget for capital projects, according to Nyul. Northeastern does not release details about the size of this budget.
Outside the Marino Center Wednesday, some students said Revolutionz would be a good addition to the gym.
Sophie Esman, a middler communications major, said bikes in the gym fill up fast, so the added equipment will help. Esman said she also thinks it’s a good idea for Northeastern to add “space for more popular classes like yoga and dance.”
Wyatt Peoples, a senior finance major, said “it couldn’t hurt” to have more training space in Revolutionz. He said he doesn’t miss Nutrition One because of its expensive prices and the presence of cheaper alternatives nearby.
“GNC is right down Mass. Ave.,” Peoples said.
Nutrition One closed last fall after more than 14 years of selling health and nutrition products near the corner of Huntington Avenue and Forsyth Street. It was an independently-owned retail store that also offered a smoothie, frozen yogurt and protein shake bar.
