Eric Schermerhorn has spent a lot of time in Washington Community High School's Torry Gym.
He's been on the coaching staff of the Washington boys basketball team since 2006, first as an assistant and then as the coach in 2019 following the death of Coach Kevin Brown.
So Schermerhorn is quite aware that the 61-year-old gym needs to be modernized.
"The beauty of Torry Gym is its age," he said. "But its age has caught up with it. The gym still has its original hardwood floor. Hardwood floors have a 30-year lifespan."
Torry Gym is on the precipice of entering a new era thanks to a $2.58 million renovation project funded primarily through health, life and safety bonds.
The gym floor and lower bleachers on both sides of the gym, also original to 1964, will be replaced.
A new HVAC system will be installed, including air conditioning. LED lighting will brighten the gym. The gym will be painted and it will get a new roof.
All that work will start soon and it will be done on an aggressive schedule, not long after the high school hosts a Class 3A boys basketball sectional tournament and a Class 3A girls basketball regional tournament.
"We're looking to start the project in March and finish before school starts in August," said Superintendent Kyle Freeman. "There's a lot to do in a short period of time."
While Torry Gym improvements have been on the high school's radar for several years, the timeline sped up last summer when a flooring company investigated dead spots on the floor and discovered the cork board under the floor had decomposed into a dirt-like substance in some areas.
The other work was added onto the floor replacement to make the needed renovations more cost-effective.
The new floor will cost $214,350. Missouri Floor Company of Maryland Heights, Mo. will install it.
The new bleachers will have a similar seating capacity to the current bleachers and be ADA accessible with hand railings. They'll be wood, like the current ones. The cost is $235,262. Altamont-based Irwin Seating has that part of the project.
Missouri Floor Company and Irwin Seating were hired through co-op purchases as was the Cleveland-based Garland Company as part of the roof replacement. Low bids for the other work were approved last month by the School Board.
Torry Gym is known nationally for hosting the annual Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary during Thanksgiving weekend.
The basketball tournament raises funds for glioblastoma and brain tumor research through the KBStrong Foundation, named for former Washington boys basketball coach Kevin Brown, who lost his battle with glioblastoma in 2019.
