The former Valley Health wellness and fitness center in Woodstock is almost ready to reopen under Shenandoah County Parks management, with a full opening projected for Dec. 1.

Parks and Recreation Director Jered Hoover detailed plans for the 20,000-square-foot Wellness and Activity Center, or “WAC”, in a Wednesday town hall meeting at Mount Olive United Methodist Church in Toms Brook.

In addition to keeping much of the fitness equipment from Valley Health, Hoover said that the county will also be retaining many of the instructors who led wellness classes at the facility. He also noted that new classes were in the works, while some fitness classes, such as “Total Body Fitness,” are already kicking off at the new location.

“We have instructors coming out of the woodwork who want to teach for us,” Hoover said. “I’m having to interview them to make sure they’re qualified.”

The county also plans to use a large space in the facility to host various social clubs, such as chess and crochet groups, and to provide a place for educational instruction.

As for the workout area, layout of equipment will depend on how many members join the WAC, and the hours of operation will be determined via questions on the sign-up form about what members want to see. The cost of the membership fee has not yet been nailed down, while the parks department is still determining what barriers will be placed to separate members-only areas from community space.

The former Valley Health facility at 1195 Hisey Avenue closed earlier this year due to a decline in membership, after which the county purchased the property for use by Parks and Recreation.

“For us to get a facility in a matter of January to now is a lot faster than building something from the ground up,” Hoover said. “We’re very fortunate to have this come about.”

Hoover credited the county staff and board of supervisors for their work negotiating the purchase and securing the funding for the venture. Part of the funding came from American Rescue Plan Act grants.

The town hall meeting Wednesday also featured a brief presentation by Shenandoah County Administrator Evan Vass, who provided an lesson about how local governments in Virginia are structured and outlined the projects that the county is currently working on.