A little more than five years after the ribbon was snipped at East Suffolk Recreation Center, the city’s Parks and Recreation director says it was a good investment that has laid the groundwork for other facilities.

The center opened in January 2009 after a $6.2 million project that renovated the former East Suffolk High School. It features a gymnasium and fitness center, a recreation room and meeting spaces that, Parks and Recreation Director Lakita Watson said, are in constant use by folks of all ages and from all parts of the city.

“I’m very pleased with the fact we have such a diverse crowd,” Watson said. “It’s not just the East Suffolk community. We have people coming from all parts of the city. From the young people to our seniors, it is a place of energy and happiness.”

According to numbers provided by the city, the South Sixth Street facility has more than 4,150 memberships and attracted about 719 monthly average users in 2013.

The total annual cost to maintain and operate it is $325,000, about $37.66 per monthly user. The cost is supplemented by membership fees — $5 to $20 a year for city residents, depending on age — and the additional fitness center membership, which is $5 to $10 per month for city residents. Visitor passes are $1 a day for youth and $5 a day for adults.

The numbers aren’t surprising when you take a look around the facility. Even on a recent weekday mid-morning, several folks of all ages were using the fitness center, men were shooting pool in the recreation room, and seniors were socializing in a meeting room.

Usage is steady, Watson said. On evenings and weekends, the meeting rooms crowd with people attending birthday parties, retirement soirees and the like, while banquet-type events often are held in the gymnasium.

“It’s a wonderful place to be,” Watson said. “I think this has been a good pallet for the other facilities we have coming. We’ve been able to take this model and identify what’s going to happen in Whaleyville and the land swap in Bennett’s Creek.”

Under construction now, the Whaleyville Community Center — the renovated Robertson Elementary School — is set to be completed in the fall. It will include exercise equipment, a gymnasium and a computer lab.

And the city will soon gain a facility on Bennetts Creek Park Road in North Suffolk, where it plans to complete a similar project in the U.S. Army Reserve building near Creekside Elementary School.

“This has been a good starting point,” Watson said.

She said she believes the Salvation Army’s new Robert W. Harrell Jr. Physical Health and Education Center complements the East Suffolk Recreation Center, because it serves a neighborhood further down East Washington Street. The two facilities have not yet collaborated on any projects, Watson said, because she’s trying to allow the newer facility time to get its feet on the ground.

Overall, Watson said, the city’s recreation center has been a success.

“It offers individuals an opportunity to be healthy, active and social,” she said. “It was a very good investment for the city.”