NEWS

A panoramic view inside the newly renovated Historic Gym. (News of Davidson photo)

The Work, Thought, and Leadership that Went into the Successful Renovation of the Historic Town Gym

Three members of Town Staff, who were actively involved in the renovation of the old gym, met with members of the News of Davidson editorial board several days before the ribbon cutting. Gina Carmon, Recreation Operations Manager; Doug Wright, Town Project Manager; and Leslie Willis, Director of Parks and Recreation, were all involved in analyzing the needs of the community and deciding how those needs might be met through an extensive renovation of the gym originally built in 1937.

The rock was painted in advance of the ribbon cutting. (News of Davidson photo)

They looked at other available town properties, in addition to the existing building, to determine if creating a new, or using this old building, would be the best and most economical solution to meet the indoor recreation needs of the growing community.

Leslie Willis said, “We realized, after looking at various options, that our best opportunity to have indoor recreation space was to work with the old gym building. We saw the history here and wanted a chance to uphold that history and also create a space where our citizens could create new memories. This has turned into a beautiful, light-filled space for children and adults.”

The overall cost of the rehabilitation was $3.648 million. Of that, $2 million came from a Mecklenburg County grant from their ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act fund). Most of the town funding came from the 2017 Town of Davidson bond referendum, which was $17 million overall, with $4 earmarked for Parks and Recreation.

Willis continued, “We told the story of this historic building to Mecklenburg County. This 1937 building was a gym for a high school, an elementary school, an IB middle school, and a private school. It is centrally located and walkable for many Davidson residents. We submitted a grant proposal to the county for ARPA funding, and we received everything we asked for!”

Willis expressed excitement for her department and for the entire town. “We had no town-owned, indoor recreation space. This great building will allow us to have our own space where we can schedule for the needs of our own community. We will not have to worry now about scheduling in numerous other places.”

A close look at the front of the building shows a color change of the bricks close to ground level - revealing where ground was excavated during the renovation. (News of Davidson photo)

She added, “It will mean that we won’t have to cancel outdoor summer camps if it rains. We have scheduled the outdoor camps on a rotating schedule, so the gym can be the backup venue.”

Gina Carmon talked about the programmatic uses of the gym, which will range from a volleyball court, which has recently become the fastest growing youth sport , to pickleball, and a non-regulation full court for basketball. The building has an ADA accessible restroom on the main level, with two additional restrooms on the lower level, along with added storage.

Carmon said, “We have a great new basketball goal system. Originally, we wanted a ceiling-mounted goal, but it was not feasible due to the load. The architects and contractor were helpful to us in finding a creative solution for our goal system, which is supported by two steel posts that can be raised and lowered to eight feet for the younger kids.”

“Party with Park and Rec Day” on July 25, will be held at the New Old Gym, when they will announce fee structures and regulations about the rentals, as well as all of the planned upcoming programming. Open gym nights are expected to start then, too.

Upholding the historic integrity of the building became the overarching goal of the work that was done. The gym and the main Town Hall and Community Center building at 251 South Street were designated as historic landmarks in 2012.

Copies of the original blue prints for the building include the name of Willard Rogers, the lead architect for the project. (News of Davidson photo)

Doug Wright said, “This building has been part of the community for almost 90 years. We heard over and over that people wanted to keep the gym and restore it to its former beauty and purpose, because it is an intrinsic part of our town.”

The workers found original drawings inside the building and Wright also received drawings from the school system. The exterior work had many challenges, among them to restore the building to its original elevations. Consequently, construction crews removed a great deal of dirt from around the building , which actually alleviated water issues.

The town also had to mitigate any possible negative effects of the additional impervious surfaces – primarily the new parking spaces. The visible portion of that effort is a storm water retention pond created on site. But it is not the only element. They also buried large detention pipes, six feet in diameter, to funnel water and keep the treated water from flowing off the site any faster than it did before the work was done.

All of this mitigates the additional runoff that might come as a result of additional impervious ground cover, with the goal of protecting neighbors “downstream” from the project.

Wright said, “Creech and Associates (the architects) and Balfour Beaty Construction were a great team. The lead architect, Rusty Miller, and his colleagues put in the time upfront that yielded an excellent result. They made timely and useful suggestions when we ran into issues. They gave us many creative solutions.”

While some of the original windowpanes are clear, others are frosted. (News of Davidson photo)

One such solution involved the windows. All of the windows are original to the building. Because there was asbestos in the frames, all the windows had to be removed and sent to a company in Greensboro that replaced the old material but kept the panes. “The gym is filled with natural light that shines on the beautiful new maple floor, just the way it did in 1937. The entire floor had to be replaced, because the old floor could not be salvaged. The new maple wood was stained with a dark stain to match the color of the old floor,” said Wright.

The interior of the roof has been insulated, which will help with the energy efficiency of the building, as will the LED lighting.

Willis hopes that the community will come out and share in this new space. “This is our first indoor recreation space. We can keep its history alive as the community returns to it. We want people to participate in it in the ways they wish, for its use to evolve and grow. We will incorporate their suggestions because this gym belongs to everyone.”

So, c’mon, citizens, let’s have some fun! Volleyball, anyone?

Editor's Note: see our full album of photos of the historic gym.