GCC gym gets expensive facelift

Charles Rich

NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Basketballs have been replaced by construction

tools.

The echo from a ball bouncing off the hardwood or backboard doesn’t

permeate throughout the gymnasium. Power drills, sledgehammers and the

voices of construction workers now inhabit the building that’s housed

numerous athletic events.

When most of the Glendale Community College students return from their

summer vacations, they’ll find that the college’s gymnasium underwent a

major facelift to the tune of $1.6 million.

College officials decided to make the 52-year-old edifice more

accessible to its student population and the public. With that will

include an expansion of the lifestyle fitness center, a two-story

elevator and a new gymnasium floor.

William Taylor, GCC’s director of business services since 1984, said

construction on the project began April 15 and will be completed by Oct.

15.

“They’ll notice the changes,” said Taylor, a 27-year college employee.

“These will be great additions and the demand is there to upgrade the

facilities inside the gym.”

Taylor said the project was funded and approved by the college’s board

of trustees. A bid was made in December and the contracts were awarded in

March.

One-time reserve funds were used from the district to help pay some of

the costs. The school received a boost from Measure G -- a local

obligation bond that was approved by citizens during the March 2002

election -- which allots the school $98 million to spend on capital

improvements to the college.

Taylor said about 10 contractors are involved with the project, which

is managed by Valencia-based Lundgren Management.

The biggest edition will be the expansion of the fitness center, which

opened in 1998. Located east of the gymnasium, the center will come

within 10 or 15 feet from the basketball court. A stage and several

classrooms once stood where the fitness center’s new dimensions will

expand.

Seventeen new faculty offices and a team room will be built above the

new part of the fitness center, Taylor said.

Restrooms will be upgraded to meet all access codes such as handicap

stalls, sinks and proper heights for drinking fountains. The new

basketball court will cost about $450,000, which is included in the $1.6

million operation.

Jon Gold, director of the fitness center since its inception, said the

fitness center’s popularity led to immediate crowdedness.

“We had about 1,200 students in 1998 and then we went down to around

900 in 2001 because people saw it getting crowded,” Gold said. “Now we

have 1,100 students enrolled at the center and we can alleviate the

pressure with the new room.”

A cardiovascular room, which will feature treadmills, will face the

basketball court. The original room will consist of exercise bicycles and

more, Gold said.

“You always want to create more flexibility for the people,” Gold

said. “Students will see a nice gym and the additional equipment. I

talked to a student whose relatives liked the center and they are trying

to enroll.”

Gold said the college, which opened in 1927, studied several different

projects since 2000 to expand the fitness center.

The closure of the gym has left the school’s men’s and women’s

basketball teams scrambling to make arrangements to conduct summer

practices.

Brian Beauchemin, who completed his 23rd year as the men’s coach, said

his team has rented Crescenta Valley High’s gymnasium one night a week

since April to hold practices.

“Not having the gym available has curtailed our practices and camps,”

said Beauchemin, the program’s all-time winningest coach with 417

victories.

“It’s put a big detour into things. There won’t be a summer league

this year and we’ll have to try to secure other gyms in the area to

practice.

“Cosmetically, the gym and the floor will look great. When I got the

job, I’d say the facility was in the middle of the pack compared to other

gyms. Hopefully, we’ll be near the top rung of the ladder.”

Dirt and grime from the construction now cover the gym floor, which

receives maintenance every two years at a cost of $2,500.

Taylor said the gymnasium last underwent minor renovation in 1999. It

included having the lighting redone and the floor restriped.