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Yakima Valley

BUSINESS TIMESS e r v i n g Y a k i m a C o u n t y ' s B u s i n e s s C o m m u n i t y

By Randy LuvaasManaging Editor

CubCrafters has purchased a big land parcel beside Yakima’s airport where it plans a new manufacturing facility.

The local aircraft company expects to start work soon on a 12,000-square-foot building just to the south of the airport, said CEO Jim Richmond.

CubCrafters recently bought 23 acres of empty land from a business park owned by the Schultz family on Ahtanum Road, according to Bill Almon Jr. of Almon Commercial Real Estate in Yakima, who repre-sented the sellers.

The deal closed for a reported $900,000. Paul Stelzer of Neil Walter Co. in Yakima represented CubCrafters.

Stelzer noted that recently many of the area’s existing large industrial buildings have been sold, which could mean more companies fol-lowing CubCrafters’ lead — buying

CubCrafters Buys Land For New Building By Airport

CubCrafters of Yakima is expanding with the pur-chase of land for a new manufacturing facility by the airport.

land and building new.“I think one reason Jim purchased

his land is that he couldn’t find other property that made sense for him. He was out there looking at other buildings but nothing really fit.

“I think we’re starting to see

people looking at land again. A lot of the large buildings have been sold lately, and the day of getting bottom-of-the-barrel prices on

Continued on page 30�

By Dujie Tahat Volution Fitness has finished

renovations on its new facility where South 11th Avenue meets Tieton Drive in Yakima. It is hard to miss with its spanning storefront windows, wide-open space, and the dozens of children and young teens running around the weight room twice a week.

Unlike most gyms, Volution welcomes kids into its facilities. Owner and Trainer James Warmoth created the Volu-tion Kids program in partnership with Yakima Pediatrics for children facing health risks in and around Yakima.

Volution pro-vides the twice-a-week service at no cost, putting kids through baseline testing, determin-ing each child’s capabilities and range of functional movement, then crafting a two-month workout schedule that “gets their bodies pull-ing, pushing, squatting.”

Mary Virginia Maxwell, behav-ioral health consultant at Yakima Pediatrics and child mental health therapist at Catholic Family and Child Services, has worked with

Volution Fitness Gets New, Larger Facility Into Shape

Warmoth from the beginning. Last November Yakima Pediat-

rics secured an $11,000 grant from Yakima Valley Community Founda-tion to help offset Volution’s costs. For months Warmoth offered the service out-of-pocket.

Recently the Centers of Disease Control announced that Washington

is one of 19 states that have reduced the rate of obe-sity in low-income children ages 2 to 4, reversing a decades-old trend. This is thanks to grassroots pro-grams around the state that make health more ac-cessible, said Maxwell, as well as “the willingness of small business owners, like Jim, to take a hit for the

benefit of the community.” Most children Maxwell refers

come from low-income households, are in foster care or are living in shelters, so finding a gym is out of the question.

Being overweight is only one factor of these kids’ health, said Maxwell. “Addressing childhood obesity affects all aspects, social,

Trainer Zack Gonzales instructs a Volution Kid at a workout station.

Continued on page 32�

The lot at the corner of South First and Walnut Streets in Yakima has been vacant as long as most people can remember. That might change soon.

“It’s been sitting empty since it used to be a mini-mart/gas station — about 35 years ago from what they tell me,” said Keith Taylor, who is planning to build a small

Retail Building Planned At Busy Intersection In Yakima

commercial center there.It has been vacant so long, he

said, because there were contamina-tion issues from the property’s days as a gas station. But Taylor bought the lot more than a year ago and discovered it had been OK’d for use by the state Department of Ecology.

“I found out I could proceed and build there. I’m pretty excited.”

Taylor owns the Java Heaven espresso stand a few blocks west on Walnut.

“One reason I bought it was to prevent someone else from put-ting in another coffee place there. I didn’t want somebody coming along and doing another drive-through just three blocks from my place.”

He plans a 4,000-square-foot retail building with room for three tenants. The building will sit toward the rear of the lot facing south, he noted.

“It has great visibility from both Walnut and First. I don’t have any tenants lined up yet but it’s such a good spot I think it will be a ‘build it and they will come’ kind of thing.”

He hopes to have the building permit soon and start excavation work immediately. Contractor RLR Construction expects to have the building completed by November, he said.

Taylor opened Java Heaven in 2001, but said he first got into the coffee business with another stand in 1995.

warehousing seems to be gone. The market is starting to correct itself. I think we’ll start to see people build-ing again in the foreseeable future.”

Page 32 Yakima Valley Business Times August 9 - 23, 2013

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behavioral, emotional, etc. “The great thing about Volution Kids is that it provides a social group while providing exercise.”

Warmoth noted that “exer-cise is just one component in a series of treatments that their doctors prescribe to help them get better.”

In addition to the referrals from Maxwell, Volution Kids accepts any child with a doc-tor’s referral. Volution does not charge those families either.

Zack Gonzales, a newly accredited trainer, leads the workout sessions. He marvels at the uniqueness of Volution Kids. “It’s wild and crazy,” said Gonzales. “But it’s rewarding.”

Warmoth started Volution Kids “in the hopes that a gen-eration comes up enjoying the weight room.”

Sara Rodriguez’s 7 year-old son, Logan, is a patient at Yakima Pediatrics. Rodriguez had been concerned about his weight, and during his most recent yearly checkup she was introduced to the program.

“It’s only his second day,” said Rodriguez, “But he loves it.”

While most gym members pay strictly for the use of facilities and space, Warmoth makes sure that Volution takes a different approach — develop-ing a unique workout program built around each member’s physical

abilities.“It’s not a requirement,” said

Warmoth. “But almost 100 percent of our members participate.”

Warmoth greets every member by name as they enter the new fit-

ness center that is still under con-struction. He designs their workout schedules and makes sure they stick

to the plan.Warmoth noted that this is be-

cause most people who come into Volution are still learning about fit-ness, and are looking for ways to get into working out.

Yakima has a well-doc-umented history of obesity — 2008: QualityHealth.com’s eighth fattest city in America; 2012: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index’s 11th fattest

city in the country — which seems to run counter to the recent crop of

new gyms. On this, Warmoth noted that

“there is a small population of that is very physically aware, but the larger population that is still becom-ing aware of movement outside the

home.” As for Gonzales, he said he

could not have picked a better place to start his career. “I’ve learned a lot from Jim,” Gon-zales said. “He has so much fitness knowledge.”

New and Improved Volution’s new location

boasts 6,000 square feet of newly renovated space (an increase from its original 1,200-square-foot facility) with the addition of Crossfit-style equipment. When complete, the reception area will include a smoothie bar and lounge area, while the second floor will be equipped with offices and stor-age space.

Though the grand opening is scheduled for mid-September, Warmoth currently sees and

signs up members 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 to 10 a.m. Saturdays. When Volution officially opens, hours will extend to 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.

In addition to a support staff, Warmoth employs two other train-ers, Gonzales and Emily Stillwag-gon. Warmoth ensures there will always be at least one trainer avail-able during the day.

For adults, membership costs range from $35 to $55 per month, depending on corporate discounts and classes taken.

Volution FitnessContinued from page 1�

ABOVE: Volution members work out at their new gym.LEFT: Owner and trainer Jim Warmoth points out where the lounge area and smoothie bar will be once renovations are completed.