New Plan Proposed for Former Poughkeepsie Gymnastics School

A former gymnastics school was supposed to become a giant church, but now there's a different plan for the empty building.

Seven years ago, Diamond Gymnastics abruptly closed its doors after operating for nearly two decades. The quick decision to shut down the popular school and birthday party venue came as a surprise to many parents, especially those that still had parties booked.

The large building that housed the gymnastics school on Sheafe Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie sat vacant for over four years before the news came about a possible new owner. At the time, Valley Christian Church announced that it would take over the building and turn it into a place of worship.

The congregation, which was meeting at the Poughkeepsie Galleria every Sunday, planned to transform the space into a new meeting house for its weekly services. At the time, a representative from Valley Christian Church told us that there was no specific timeline on when the church would open. They did say that construction was ongoing but there were "a few processes and renovations to go through before moving into the building."

Weeks after speaking with the church, however, COVID-19 hit. This put a hold on plans and forced the Poughkeepsie campus to stop their weekly services at the mall. Sadly, by the time restrictions were lifted, the church had closed down its Poughkeepsie branch and abandoned plans to move into the former gymnastics school.

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Now it appears that a new business is looking to take over the building, however, it's something a bit less exciting than a gymnastics venue or church. Erie Materials Inc. has approached the Poughkeepsie Town Board to petition a change to the use of the building. Their hope is that it can be transformed into a building material sales and storage facility. The company is seeking permission to add an outdoor storage yard, an accessory storage structure and other building additions. The company would also like to change the current parking lot configuration.