Renovations update school gym built in the 1950s

Courtesy photo/St. Francis Xavier School

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The renovation of the gymnasium at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and school will provide increased seating for spectators at events.

KEARNS — St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and school in Kearns are getting more usable space in their gymnasium thanks to an ALSAM Foundation grant that will fund the entire project. The gym was part of the original church/school campus constructed in the 1950s.

“I actually knew that we needed to do renovations before I was the principal here because my boys that have both graduated from Judge Memorial [Catholic High School], they’ve always played CYO basketball,” said Principal Heather Brown, who spearheaded the project. “When we would come here for games, the fans had to sit on the foul line. So oftentimes, you’d get a ball on the lap, or sometimes even a player. There wasn’t ever any place for the people who came to events to fit.”

The school received the funding in March but with the high demand in the construction industry and materials shortages it was July before they were able to hire a contractor. In early August G1 Construction began the project, which is expected to be complete in early February.

Although the actual footprint of the building will not change, by eliminating some storage space the gym will increase by several feet on its north end, where fixed bleachers will provide seating for 50 to 60 people. The west-end upstairs room, formerly used as the church’s cry room, will be opened up and filled with benches. The area below it will also be used for additional seating. The gym will also get a new floor.

“We wanted to invest in it to have a brighter, updated, more usable space for the whole community,” Brown said.

In addition to being used for special events for both the church and school, the gym acts as the school’s lunch room, and physical education classes are normally held there. With construction under way, the school’s 211 students now are eating their lunches in the  library and other open spaces. P.E. classes are held outside when the weather allows it.

“The faculty and staff are doing a great job of being flexible,” Brown said. “We have a combination of places where the students are eating: sometimes they eat in the library, because we have a wonderful big library; sometimes they’re in the classroom.”

When the project is complete, students will again have lunch and P.E. in the gymnasium, but the project “will make it so that we can have a space for assemblies” as well, Brown said. “We’ll be able to have a space that we can be proud of to host sporting events and other events.”

“I would love to give a big thanks to the ALSAM Foundation for supporting the school and giving us the resources,” she said. “This wouldn’t be possible without them. We’re also grateful for the church community and the school community for being patient and supportive. As you can imagine, it has affected the entire community.”

The school is also reconfiguring its office space and entry to make it more accessible. All the administrative offices will now be located in the middle school wing. This project is expected to be completed in mid-January.

“The main reason for this was to have an easier access of an entrance for our guests coming in because before it was really confusing for anyone who was new coming to the church or the school,” Brown said. “So now this is more of a direct entrance to the school.”