Jensen Family Health and Fitness Center is ready to open its doors.

Nearly two years after closing for an extensive renovation, the popular Joint Base Lewis-McChord fitness center on Lewis Main is back open for business. The doors will open for a soft opening at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

The renovation project had a major delay with the hardwood flooring, but patrons will be pleased with the extra time spent on the $2.5 million renovation.

"It's exceeded my expectations," Chief of Community Recreation Division Rick Randall said. "It looks fantastic. You think you know what it's going to look like and it looks even better."

No expense was spared as all cardiovascular equipment was upgraded, increased in quantity and placed on a brand new rubber floor. The cardio area includes top-of-the-line treadmills, elliptical trainers, upright bikes, recumbent bikes, stair climbers, a Jacob's Ladder treadmill and a rowing machine. Half of the machines face one direction while the other half face the opposite direction to share a dozen 60-inch TVs scattered throughout the exercise floor.

"We had enough space where we can have all this equipment but nothing is jammed in," Randall said.

The strength area includes brand new equipment and a variety of weights. There are also two instructional flat-screen TVs set up for instructional programming, such as P90X.

Past the front entrance is the child care center where parents can drop off their children. The new child care facility is air-conditioned and includes separate restrooms for toddlers, older youth and the care givers. Previously the care givers had to escort the children to the adult locker rooms.

The facility also includes an infant room with a changing table, and an array of games to cater to children of all ages.

"For a child care facility I don't see how it can get better than this," Randall said.

There are also four offices for the Health Outcomes on-site nurse educators located near the lobby area.

The upstairs aerobics room received a major facelift to cater to the many hours of recreation classes offered. It now includes a new wood floor, air conditioning, a $25,000 sound system that includes 22 speakers and eight subwoofers, new mirrors and a new ceiling. There is also a new fleet of spin bikes. Also upstairs is the newly renovated indoor track with a brand new surface.

Prior to the renovation all the upstairs and downstairs windows were painted over. All paint has been stripped to allow natural light into the facility.

Equipment was moved into the gym and assembled last week. This past week was spent cleaning and fine tuning everything for Monday's soft opening. The date of the official ribbon cutting grand opening is still to be determined. A Life Fitness elliptical machine will be raffled that day.

Jensen Gym will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. For fitness class schedules visit jblmmwr.com.

Jensen was built in 1932 and was originally a gymnasium.