Turlock High School’s Louise Marchant Gymnasium has been undergoing a complete renovation makeover and crews have taken it to a whole other level with an elevator installation.
The new addition to the Louise Marchant’s girls gym, offers elevator access for people with physical disabilities to enter the second story bleacher seating.
The installation of the elevator marks another step forward in its completion. Throughout the project, the completion of the gym has seen itself hindered due to previous circumstances involving weather and the discovery of dry rot in the gym.
Renovation of the gym includes fixing the problems discovered throughout the process, the sanding and repairing of the hardwood floor, and new brick detailed walls on the outside of the gym.
Formerly known to THS staff and students as the West Gym or the “Girls’ Gym,” the renovation of the gym was phase 5 of the modernization efforts that date back to 2008. Phase 5 modernization efforts also included the renovated and “modernized” THS Performing Arts Building.
The total cost of the Louise Marchant Gymnasium has given some concern to the Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees. The original contract total for the gym was $2.8 million, when the gym was scheduled to be completed in Oct. 2015. However, the amount increased by $790,000 when the dry rot was discovered, along with delays that have added to the original cost.
Cumulatively, both the West Gym and the Performing Arts Building project costs have increased by over a million dollars. When the completion date of the gym was pushed to March 1, approximately $1.3 million was added, and, with the completion date once again pushed to the end of July for $114,500 this brings the GMP of THS’s Modernization Phase 5 to an approximate total of $9 million.
On May 3rd, the Turlock Unified School District’s Board of Trustees, approved a request made by the Louise Marchant Legacy Committee to rename Turlock High School’s West Gym, or the girls gym, after Louise Marchant, a THS graduate of 1944.
Turlock students, their families, and fans can look forward to enjoying sports games, events, and activities in the grand modernized Louise Marchant Gymnasium coming soon to Turlock High School!
The target completion date for the Louise Marchant Gym is July 31.
TurlockCityNews.com will have an update and pictures of the completion.
