I’m just back from a tour of the loooooooong-awaited Asphalt Green Battery Park City, which opens next Saturday, June 15. (“Come hell or high water?” I asked and then quickly retracted.) Director Bryan Beary led the way around the LEED Gold–certified building, and it’s pretty fantastic.

The 52,000-square-foot facility is spread over three levels in two buildings. First, let’s explore the lobby level. (Note: All photos enlarge is you click on them. And the abundance of natural light makes some rooms look darker than they are.)

The lobby is open and airy; a café/juice bar run by Elixir will be to the left of the front door (kind of where I was standing to take this photo).

Also on the main level: A 156-seat theater to be used for theater classes (including Stage Combat and Acting for Business), films, dance, summer camp, and more. It should be mentioned here that most spaces will get used in myriad ways.

Let’s go downstairs….

The check-in desk for members is downstairs, to the left; that’s where swimmers will get towels.

This is probably the last time I’ll be in the women’s locker room. The lockers can handle longer garments, which is nice. There’s a steam room, which I didn’t shoot, and there’s also a family locker room (along with a men’s one, naturally).

Rentable lockers are out by the fitness area (more on that in a sec). I still don’t quite understand why they’re not inside the locker rooms, but whatever.

And here’s where you can store your kids—a.k.a. the dedicated babysitting room, where child check will be available during the day on weekdays and on weekends.

All locker rooms feed into the pool area, so you don’t have to parade around the rest of the place in your swimsuit, unless you want to. The main pool is six lanes wide and 25 yards long, 3’6″ deep at one end and 9′ at the other. (When I was a kid, the blocks were always at the shallow end, which doesn’t make much sense, does it?) The temp is around 80 degrees, which is great for swimming, and the air temp is 81 degrees—a bit hot for my taste, but the room is also home to the teaching and exercise pool (90 degrees, to placate kids). The entire floor of the T&E pool can rise, a boon for those who have a hard time getting in and out.

A smart detail: The hallway outside the pool area (and the basketball court) has alcove windows so parents and caregivers can keep an eye on kids without having to listen to the instructor sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”

The fitness area is perhaps not as big as you might expect, at least compared to Equinox. It has Precor machines and free weights and fantastic light.

The basketball court is full-size, with a screen that can drop down the middle for half-court play. And there are lines in the floor for volleyball. Basketball will be for adults and kids, with organized pick-up leagues and also times for open play (same goes for the pool). This is also where InShape Circus will lead circus arts classes, such as trapeze and human cannonball.

A fitness studio with dance bars:

A room with stationary bikes (they won’t be this close together):

Even the hallways are gorgeous:

And now, upstairs! A classroom (the ceilings aren’t quite as high as they look—this furniture is kid-size).

A classroom with dummy! Any staff member who deals with kids gets medical training.

A music room, or should I say a room that’s set up for music. Church Street School for Music & Art will help with music classes:

Catering company Great Performances, meanwhile, is running classes in the culinary center:

And finally, a Pilates studio:

As you can see, the 52,000 square feet are being put to work. So far, Asphalt Green Battery Park City has around 2,000 adult members (and an untold number of children as part of family memberships). The max will be around 3,500 members.

For more on membership, class offerings, schedules, and a rundown of the free opening demo classes available June 15-27, see asphaltgreenbpc.org.