It’s well known that the auxiliary gym at Canadian High School has been under construction for a considerable amount of time, but this time may soon be coming to an end. Just recently, renovations have resumed after numerous delays and unexpected issues and is expected to be completed by the end of December. Many have been looking forward to using the gym and have questions about its potential use after completion.

    According to the repair plan, the school board has chosen Shiver-Mergert & Associates, LLP as the new architect, approved “competitive sealed proposals” as the new method for construction delivery, and hired Panhandle Steel Building as the general contractor to collaborate with Shiver-Mergert. The flooring company, who has been appointed to supervise the “purchase and installation of new flooring,” Superintendent Dr. Lynn Pulliam said.

     In terms of the construction of the gym itself, however, progress is stalled temporarily. Although the floors have been delivered, before they can be put it acclimation is taking place while the exterior repairs are completed. The expected completion date is at the end of December this year, as long as the floor installation is begins as scheduled this month or next.      

      However, this date is completely dependent on whether the architect and general contractor are “confident the repairs are far enough along that water cannot enter the building,” Pulliam said. If the project starts sooner and runs smoothly, it is even possible the gym could be usable by November.

     Head girls basketball coach, Aaron Marks, is especially ready for the repairs to be complete so the basketball teams can utilize the gym. 

     “Having this gym helps in both quantity and quality. The upstairs gym isn’t as quality, but we’ve made it work because it’s all we have available,” Marks said.

    He also has hopes that the gym will create a positive “domino effect” for future Lady Cats, as the gym provides a top-of-the-line facility for summer camps, workshops, and more. For the present, having a second location will potentially eliminate scheduling conflicts with coaches and the band so that all school organizations will have full accessibility. 

     Marks also said the gym will boost athlete morale, as the aforementioned lack of quality in the upstairs gym can dampen effectiveness and the mood of practices.

     Pulliam provided full details about the progression of the gym’s situation. The initial construction wrapped up in December of 2017 and was entirely ready to use by the following January. For a short time everything was going well, but less than two years later, issues with the floor alignment became apparent. According to Pulliam, the visitor’s side of the gym began to buckle and swell to the point that the bleachers couldn’t be moved without difficulty. Thankfully this issue did not immediately put the gym out of commission, and it was usable for half of the 2020-2021 basketball season before the issues spread and continuing practice “became unsafe due to unlevel playing surface.”

     In order to address the issue, the flooring “along the northeast and east interior wall” was completely removed and a section along this wall was excavated. Pulliam explained the situation with the architects originally hired to build the gym, and the architect and construction manager stated they were unable to identify the cause of the buckling.

     Because of this, CISD opted to continue to work with the original construction management team to strategize about a repair plan. This took only a few months, and in March of 2022,  CISD was given a proposal that would burden the district with repair costs. Pulliam states, due to the age of the gym the floor began to warp and the fact that CISD was not directly responsible for the issues, he does not “believe it was fair nor right that the architect and builder were asking us to pay for the repairs.” He went on to discuss how the district began to look into their options in terms of legal options, including law firms and lawyers specializing in “construction defects.” Two firms rejected the case before Walsh-Gallegos agreed to represent CISD. Pulliam stated the district has “moved forward with repairs and are hoping to recover our costs from the original firms who designed and built the gym.”