by Kirby Lindsay, posted 4 June 2014
On the morning of June 8th, the first-ever ‘No Kids Left On The Sidelines 5K’ will give runners, and those who want to run, a chance to raise money to make sure disadvantaged children get equal chances to participate in extra-curricular sports in schools. The run starts at 9a at Magnuson Park (check-in at 8a,) and promises to be an excellent opportunity for those who want to participate in a 5K, do some good, and do it all without the crowds of other runs.
“They came to us very late in the game,” acknowledged Lillian Cawdrey of Fremont Health Club, one of the race sponsors, “we like the cause. It’s for the cause.” The ‘No Kids…Sidelines’ race came together very quickly, and Cawdrey knows some of the people – Fremont HC collects used shoes for Redeeming Soles, a race organizer, to distribute to the homeless and schools – and she admires the work of Ritual Running, also a race organizer, to get their positive message out.
‘Have A Healthy Lifestyle’
“It’s part of who we are,” Cawdrey said of Fremont HC sponsoring the ‘No Kids…Sidelines 5K’, “our mission is to support the whole family; to support people to have a healthy lifestyle.”
Cawdrey owns Fremont HC, with her daughter Tricia Cawdrey. “We invested in this when the opportunity appeared,” Lillian Cawdrey explained, but she also acknowledged, “We are not the experts.”
The Cawdrey’s take care to hire an experienced, knowledgeable manager, Teresa Seto, for Fremont HC. The Health Club offers classes, equipment and personal trainers (that include former manager Eric Wilson.) The Health Club also offers a children’s room, and has organized kid’s activities, to encourage families to join. They’ve supported fun, health-focused, seasonal activities like last year’s Beer Pong, the Fremont Fun Run, and now the ‘No Kids…Sidelines 5K.’
Fremont Health Club opened in April 2012, in space formerly occupied by Anytime Fitness, and before that grocery stores and pharmacies. “It’s been a tough space,” Cawdrey acknowledged about the tenant turnover. However, she sees one of the qualities the previous tenants struggled with – the space is partially underground – as advantageous for the Health Club. “I think this gym is the perfect fit for the space – a place where members can come in and safely work out without feeling like you’re in a fish bowl,” she said.
Designing Fremont Village Square
Cawdrey knows the building, Fremont Village Square well, since she and her husband Dan, own it. In fact, Cawdrey is an architect and she designed the structure for this precise location.
The site has been owned by members of the Cawdrey family going back to 1950. Originally Dan Cawdrey’s father, Jim Cawdrey, purchased it and built a Roman Brick building on the corner of the site. In 1985, Dan took ownership and the Fremont Public Association (now Solid Ground) had offices and a food bank here, in the building and a modular building/trailer.
At the end of the 10-year lease, the F.P.A. moved to a new location. Lillian Cawdrey recalled moving the modular building to a new site (where it still stands) on the south side of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. They moved the trailer across Fremont, and the Bridge, just in advance of the start of the 1995 FAC Solstice Parade.
After the central tenant left, the Cawdrey’s “decided to take it to the next step – to develop the property,” Lillian Cawdrey recalled. She designed Fremont Village Square around the original building, although most of it had to be removed. she used the same Roman Brick style, particularly where the building once stood and Hunger operates today. “We incorporated a lot of that building,” she reported, “the floors are at the same grade.”
The building design had to incorporate a variety of grades. Kylie’s Chicago Pizza, and the parking garage, sit one floor below the Health Club, Fremont Wine, MTI Physical Therapy (a new tenant,) and The Augustus. Offices on the floor above the Health Club, also open off another segment of the sidewalk.
In her design, Cawdrey also included art. “It was always going to be a fountain,” she reported about the centerpiece of the Village Square courtyard, “We looked at a couple of local artists.” They chose John Hoge, and one of his signature pieces which has provided a nice contrast to the work he did on the Fremont Rocket.
Grocery To Drugstore To Grocery To Gym
“We had a contract with Alfalfa’s,” Cawdrey recalled. The grocery market, similar to Whole Foods, had agreed to occupy the Village Square when built, but they also needed more space. The Cawdrey’s purchased the property adjacent to theirs, and expanded the footprint of the development, before the tenant changed their mind.
They then leased to Payless Drugs, only Rite-Aid bought out the chain a short time before it opened – and then chose to close the store when they decided they had too many locations, too close together, in this area. So, the Cawdrey’s, with Dan’s brother Michael, opened Fremont Fresh Market in the space.
This is when Lillian Cawdrey, “put on another hat,” as she described it, and stepped into managing the floral and produce areas. She had to give up her work as an architect, and office in Downtown Seattle, a move she does not regret. “I was supporting the family endeavor,” she explained, and making time to help her son David, who had just been diagnosed with A.L.S.
While she and her husband lived in a penthouse, caretaker apartment of Village Square from 1995 until 2013, the grocery store gave Cawdrey more contact with the people of Fremont than ever before. “I’ve always enjoyed people,” she said, but still, “It taught me a lot of patience.” Mostly she speaks fondly of her work there. “People were always happy to buy flowers,” she said.
The downside, “the thing that broke me,” Cawdrey recalled, “was the amount of shoplifting.” Fremont Fresh had a security system, but still thieves would steal. After a few years, Fremont Fresh sold to Red Apple Market, which also didn’t survive in the underground-ish space.
‘Who We Are’
With Fremont HC, Cawdrey sees potential, and the chance to work with her daughter, and this community. “Being a part of Fremont is who we are,” she said. She is proud to have ‘inherited’ some equipment from the former Fremont Sound Mind & Body. She is also grateful to have a business able to sponsor events like the ‘No Kids…Sidelines 5K’. “We’re here not only to provide a service, but to give back,” she explained.
Cawdrey hopes everyone will consider turning out to support the kids, and our community, on June 8th – and, of course, take a look at what Fremont Health Club has to offer. “We…pride ourselves in being very Fremont friendly,” she said when she invited the curious to come by and check out the facility, “no high pressure sales here.”
To find out more about the ‘No Kids…Sidelines 5K’, go to the Facebook page or on-line registration. To learn more about Fremont HC, and the Summertime New Member Special, stop by the Club, call 206/632-2200 or e-mail info@fremonthc.com
Related Articles
- John Hoge Is A Genuine Fremont Artist
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 2, 1999
- A New Year’s Resolution – Not For Me, But Fremont
- by Kirby Lindsay, December 31, 2003 in the North Seattle Herald-Outlook
- 100 Views Of Fremont
- by Kirby Lindsay, October 5, 2007 in the North Seattle Herald-Outlook
- Why No Fremont Pharmacy, So Far?
- by Kirby Lindsay, February 8, 2013
- The Dividing Tree
- by Kirby Lindsay, September 5, 2008 in the North Seattle Herald-Outlook
©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.