WINCHESTER GYM DEMOLITION APPROVED

WINCHESTER — The Winchester School Board voted Friday afternoon during a special session to move forward with demolishing the Winchester Grade School gymnasium after structural concerns were discovered earlier this year.

Superintendent Jeff Abell said the district has hired Graham Hyde Architects to obtain a demolition permit and begin design work on a new multipurpose building. Abell noted that plans for the multipurpose facility were already in development before it was discovered January 15 that the gym ceiling was deteriorating and beginning to fail.

While some may have expected a full gym replacement, Abell said constructing a new gym would take a couple of years. The district instead needs a functional multipurpose space ready by next November to accommodate physical education classes and indoor recess for grade school students.

The new building will be constructed just south of the current gym and adjacent to the grade school building. Abell explained that the district is restricted in how it can use project funding, with financing structured as a line of credit limited specifically to construction of the new multipurpose facility.

arents will begin noticing stabilization work on the existing gym starting Monday. Abell said safety mitigation efforts at the rear of the structure are intended to allow continued use of the cafeteria and kitchen areas while demolition and construction preparations move forward.

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