Durango gymnastics building opens

Tuesday, Jan 31, 2017 5:17 AM

City spends $2.1 million on new building

Cloe Ulshafer, 14, demonstrates her gymnastic skills during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Mayor Christina Rinderlee addresses a crowd gathered Monday for the grand opening of the city’s new 11,710-square-foot gymnastics facility in Bodo Industrial Park.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Naomi Smith, 12, demonstrates her gymnastic skills during Monday’s grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility in Bodo Industrial Park.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Burke Walkter, 13, demonstrates his gymnastic skills during Wednesday’s grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility in Bodo Industrial Park.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Daija Lawson, 12, demonstrates her gymnastic skills during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Naomi Smith, 12, demonstrates her gymnastic skills during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Maddy Griswold, 11, left, and Maddy LeSage, 11, demonstrate their gymnastic skills on the beam during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Burke Walkter, 13, demonstrates his gymnastic skills during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Burke Walkter, 13, demonstrates his gymnastic skills during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Cloe Ulshafer, 14, demonstrates her gymnastic skills during the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Durango Mayor Christina Rinderlee addresses a crowd gathered for the grand opening of the cities new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The new Durango Gymnastics facility includes separates rooms. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The new Durango Gymnastics facility in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fellow gymnasts congratulate Maddy LeSage, 11, after her floor exercise at the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Maddy LeSage, 11, demonstrates her gymnastic skills during a floor exercise at the grand opening of the city of Durango’s new gymnastics facility on Monday in Bodo Industrial Park. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Gymnasts flipped through the air Monday afternoon enjoying a newly remodeled building in Bodo Industrial Park.

The city bought and remodeled the building for $2.1 million, so the gymnastics program could be moved out of the aging Mason Center. A sales tax dedicated to parks and recreation paid for the building.

“It’s nice to have a facility that is functional, clean and safe,”said Andrea Rike, who has a daughter in the gymnastics program.

Classes started Monday at 144 Bodo Drive, and gymnastics students of all ages were excited to practice on the new equipment.

“I love it,” 9-year-old Maddie Owen said. Her favorite part is a new foam pit that gymnasts can land in when practicing.

“It’s fluffy, and you can get buried in it,” she said.

The new building has 11,710 square feet compared with the Mason Center’s 3,500 square feet, so it can accommodate more classes and allow more space between tumbling students.

“It allows us to spread them out a little bit more, so that they are safer,” said Stephanie Malhmood the recreation supervisor for gymnastics.

The city’s gymnastics program serves students from 8 months through high school. The city may also start offering adult classes. Already, a small group of adults uses the city’s gym for training, Malhmood said.

Now that the gymnastics program has moved, the city plans to use the Mason Center, on East Third Avenue and 12th Street, for storage until it can be demolished, said Cathy Metz Parks and Recreation Director. The demolition is not slated this year.

The former elementary school was built in the 1950s, and there is asbestos in the building that will require mitigation, she said.

The Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado is applying for $600,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to assess older buildings, including the Mason Center, to determine the cost of mitigating contamination, said Laura Lewis Marchino, the executive director of the district.

The grant would include assessments of buildings in eight other communities across the region.

Region 9 had expected to hear about the grant in the spring 2016, before President Donald Trump’s administration took power.

Lewis Marchino is now uncertain about when Region 9 might hear back about the grant, she said.

The city expects to hold meetings with residents to plan the future of the Mason Center site, Metz said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com