GHS gym renovation begins
After the fixed bleachers were removed, the existing locker rooms, which were housed underneath the bleachers, shown as the white wall toward the bottom left of this photo, had to be filled in. The new flooring will be installed over the area, making the floor even with the rest of the space.
The well-known, red fixed bleachers within the Gainesville High School gym were recently removed. The new bleachers will be ADA-compliant and have the ability to be retracted to the far wall.
Gainesville High School’s gym is currently under construction, and crews are working to remove the former red fixed bleachers and replace them with ADA-compliant “roll-back” bleachers.
The locker rooms, which were located under the fixed-bleachers are being removed, and a 54-inch space will be filled in and gym floor will be installed over it.
The roll-back bleachers will create an additional 2,300 square feet of floor space when the bleachers are retracted. The gym renovation project will be completed before students return to school for the fall semester.
Superintendent Justin Gilmore told the Times Monday that much of the work is being completed by local businesses. “The Winrod Brothers did the demolition and door construction, Hambelton brothers did the rock fill, Robby Strain is doing the concrete work and Wes Uchtman did the block work,” Gilmore said, referencing crews from local businesses Winrod Brothers Construction, MLH & Sons, Robby Strain Concrete and Uchtman Hand-Crafted Stone LLC. “All the subcontractors besides the gym floor and bleachers removal are local.”
The gym renovation runs parallel to a much bigger renovation project that will add nearly 8,000-square feet onto the front of the existing structure, creating a totally new facade to the high school. The addition, part of a $2 million FEMA grant that the school received last fall, will be used as a community tornado shelter, capable of protecting 930 people. The school district is required to provide a 10 percent match to the grant for FEMA-approved elements and plans to also use district funds to finish out the structure.
For more information on the project visit www.ozarkcountytimes.com and search, ‘First look: Gainesville school unveils plans for new addition, renovation.’