Franco's Athletic Club plans to rebuild Lakeview center

New Orleans CityBusiness, Oct 6, 2005 by Tommy Santora

Franco's Athletic Club General Manager Larry Conner said damages are still being assessed from nearly 7 feet of floodwater in the Lakeview fitness center but the initial plans are to rebuild the location.

We have some diehard members in Lakeview who want their club back and are waiting for us to return, said Conner. We are visiting the site again today to assess everything and see if we can salvage the club standing, or bulldoze and start from scratch. We know the water having been sitting there in the center is a major problem and we just haven't been allowed enough access to the site yet to make a final decision.

Franco's Mandeville location reopened two weeks after Hurricane Katrina. Conner says the center averages more than 1,000 members a day compared with 1,700 to 2,000, pre-Katrina.

We're starting to see the flow we were used to seeing and everybody is just happy to have their club open again over here, said Conner.Conner said the Mandeville center is open to Lakeview members. The center also houses anywhere from 20 to 100 relief workers nightly in the basketball gym.