LifeWise Academy buys aquatic center in Hilliard for $2.8 million
HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) - A former central Ohio aquatic center is the future home of a growing organization that focuses on religious instruction for public school students.
LifeWise Academy purchased the Aquatic Adventures Ohio building, located off Cemetery Road and Interstate 270 in Hilliard, for $2.8 million. Joel Penton, the founder and CEO of LifeWise, said the building will become the organization's office and training facility. He noted a portion of the building would house a studio focused on creating content.
"The majority of the space will be for training, said Penton. "We have waves of new LifeWise directors and teachers that come to Columbus regularly for training. It's been on the list for a while to obtain a building that we can have our own training facility."
Penton said the name of the building will be called the "Skestos Center" after George Skestos Sr., a "generous" contributor. The training room will be called the "Tressel Coaching Hall."
"Named after my former Ohio State football coach, Jim Tressel," said Penton, who played on the defensive line in 2005 and '06, "primarily because of the large impact he's had on my life personally."
LifeWise takes advantage of a 1952 Supreme Court ruling that allows off-site religious education and a 2013 state law that allows public school districts to opt in as long as parents consent and core curriculum instruction time isn't disrupted, among other conditions.
It's not without controversy. Some parents told NBC News recently that even though the program isn't mandatory, non-Christian children may feel left out or pressured to attend.
But LifeWise has been growing since its inception. It said it now serves over 30,000 students.
Right now, the agency is headquartered in a ranch home that's been converted into an office in Old Hilliard. Penton said the spot is a great location, but the space isn't enough.
"We started this project in 2019 and we launched our first two programs, and here we are serving over 300 schools across 13 states," said Penton. "We want to demonstrate that we're in this for the long haul and want to demonstrate permanence to central Ohio. We want to invest in central Ohio. … To us, this is kind of a milestone."
LifeWise is expecting the building to be finished by the end of 2024.