Bouldering gym opening in former Latham Kmart
LATHAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Hudson Boulders is set to open in the former Kmart building at 195 Troy Schenectady Road in Latham. The gym hopes to open in the fall, by September 1.
The gym will have about 5,553 feet of climbing space. It's a bouldering gym, which is a form a free climbing on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without ropes or harnesses. The only exception is in the birthday party area, which has a few smaller rope climbs.
"It is important to us that we create an inclusive, and welcoming environment for everyone," said Facility Manager Emily Tallmadge. "We will have fun community events and friendly competitions. We will also have both adult and youth programs/classes. This would include, group climbs, team building, technique classes, youth camps and youth teams.
Hudson Boulders will also have yoga classes and a state-of-the-art fitness area. The gym has memberships, day passes, intro packs and punch passes. There will be pre-opening sales and memberships for a discount, said Tallmadge.
Hudson Boulders comes from the Climbing Collective that owns Philadelphia Rock Gym and Inner Peaks. This is the first rock climbing gym under this name and they hope to open more locations in upstate New York in the future.
"With nearly six decades of combined experience backing it, Hudson Boulders is dedicated to building on the solid foundation and growing the local climbing community. We are thrilled to bring the Climbing Collective experience to Latham with the opening of Hudson Boulders," said Lauren Caporizo, Chief Business Development Officer of the Climbing Collective."
The former Kmart property was bought by Bill Lia, the owner of Lia Auto Group and Vent Fitness, in 2017. Current tenants include the upscale farm-to-table restaurant Scarlet Knife, Vent Fitness, and The Bunker, an indoor golf simulator and lounge.