The fitness room at Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Centre will be tripled in size thanks to a federal grant.

The federal government is giving a grant of about $240,000, which the City of Pitt Meadows plans to match, in order to expand the weight and fitness room into the multipurpose room. A new multipurpose room will be built where the seniors currently have their lounge area after the new seniors facility is opened at Wesbrooke.

The federal grant comes from Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund, and the matching Pitt Meadows dollars will be part of the 2013 capital budget.

The weight room is currently crowded in the early morning and afternoons and evenings, said Don Cramb with parks and leisure services, and it’s difficult for wheelchairs to move around the equipment.

“People with mobility issues have problems getting around,” Cramb said of the current weight and fitness room.

The plans and layout are already drawn, and Cramb estimated it would take about eight months to do the renovations.

They are hoping to keep the facilities open during renovations.

Pitt Meadows Mayor Deb Walters thanked member of Parliament Randy Kamp for the funding, pointing out the City has received $3 million the past two years.

“This has afforded us opportunities to proceed with such worthwhile projects as the artificial turf field at Pitt Meadows Secondary School, the South Bonson Community Centre, and upgrades to our community arena,” she said.