After months of construction, the Baeplex health and wellness complex officially opened its doors Saturday at its new campus in Upper York County.
The new campus located on Bulifants Boulevard off Mooretown Road will replace the old Baeplex Family Martial Arts Center on John Tyler Highway in James City County.
On Thursday, officials from York County were on hand to celebrate a ribbon cutting of the new campus.
Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism President Karen Riordan spoke of the benefits of the new campus.
“It’s so wonderful to see this business not just grow, but to invest in our community, mind, body and spirit,” she said.
The public got its first glimpse into Joseph Ash’s vision on Saturday, when a grand opening and fall festival featuring a variety of free activities was held. Official martial arts, yoga and kickboxing classes will begin Monday.
Ash’s decision to move to the 6.2-acre tract of land in York County stemmed from his desire to create an all-encompassing health and wellness campus.
“My vision was to take our success at building a community of martial arts learners and add in more activities – from the peacefulness of outdoor meditation to the stretching of yoga to the strength building of weight training,” Ash said. “I wanted to build on a site that suited my vision.”
Saturday marked the completion of phase one of Ash’s project, which included buying the property, clearing trees, adding parking and building a large chunk of the martial arts building.
The result is a sprawling campus that allows patrons to get in touch with nature while promoting positive mental and physical health.
Additional phases will include building a separate yoga and wellness building, a physical arts building with weights and traditional workout equipment, a meditation garden, an outdoor trail and fully completing the martial arts building.
In total, the project is estimated to cost more than $3 million and will provide patrons an expansive location to practice yoga, meditation, massage and martial arts.
Ash has been a martial artist since 1981 and took over Baeplex in 1997 from Master Bae, a Newport News Tae Kwon Do teacher. Today, Baeplex serves more than 200 families and students ranging in age from 2 to 74.
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