NORFOLK, Va (WAVY) — The Norfolk Fitness and Wellness Center in the Wards Corner area is ready for a re-do — and the community is buzzing.

“I would love the pool to come back and the basketball courts,” Norfolk resident Sam Durant told WAVY.

The glass dome which surrounded the pool, the crowned jewel of the recreation center, is now tarnished. And the drained indoor pool, neighbors say, is a gaping hole in the community.

“I’ve seen over the years a lot of people use it for swimming laps, they had swimming lessons … children are in here, adults are in here,” Susan LaGrange said.

More than 50 years of moisture from humid pool conditions and weather events have deteriorated the steel structure, forcing the city to shut the pool down nearly two years ago.

Durant would like to see the dome salvaged.

“I definitely think they should keep it, I mean maybe be redone so no one gets hurt,” Durant said.

LaGrange would save the money and move past the dome.

“I know the dome is dilapidated. Three walls and a roof and you’ve got a fantastic facility,” she told WAVY.

These are the kinds of ideas Norfolk is looking to hear from residents as it moves ahead with plans to turn the old center into a new combined fitness center and library.

The swimming pool, gym and sauna are hot topics in the community, but leaders want to know what else is important to families, singles and seniors.

Pickleball, paperbacks, or picnics, whatever your vision is for the next 50 years, you can share it Tuesday night during a public workshop. It will be done via Zoom starting at 6 pm. Click here to register and join.