Frederick Douglass Gym reopens in Key West

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

It was a nice change of pace. A building-opening, ribbon cutting ceremony instead of the recent demolition and debris removal caused by Hurricane Irma.

Calling the Feb. 17 reopening of the Bahama Village community gym after extensive renovations a “rebirth,” city Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who represents the district where the Olivia Street gym is located, said his mother graduated from the facility back when it was a school. But the building had fallen on hard times and closed about 18 months ago when crumbling concrete and a deteriorating roof forced the city to shutter the facility, along with a Monroe County Health Department clinic that served the neighborhood from the adjacent building that is part of the complex.

Since then, the project completion date kept getting pushed back as removal of walls, windows and other parts of the structure showed even more deterioration than originally estimated in an engineering report by Hayes/Cummings Architects prior to construction. That helped push the original renovation budget up from $1.7 million to $2.6 million. In addition to demolishing the interior of the structure, including bathrooms, offices and storage areas, the roof and windows were replaced and new electrical, plumbing and air conditioning systems were installed.

But that was not on the minds of the 20 or so kids who ran into the new gym after the ceremonial ribbon was cut by city officials. They grabbed basketballs and ran onto the court to begin doing what the building was meant for.

“This is a glorious day,” Lopez said.

And the renovation of the historic Bahama Village building isn’t done. The adjacent building, where the health clinic was located, is envisioned as a new community center, replacing the one called for in the plans for Truman Waterfront Park. By building a community center next to the Douglass Gym, more green space can be added to the park plans, keeping buildings there at a minimum.

Jim Bouquet, Key West Engineering Director, said that the original idea of building a community center where the clinic building is now and extending it to cover the parking lot was discarded due to city land development regulations. But that still leaves about 6,000 square feet of space that can be turned from the current warren of small rooms used for after-school tutoring and music instruction into a more open community center.

“I think it’s going to be pretty neat,” Bouquet said. “We’re talking about doing some landscaping. It will be a nice community area.”

Hayes/Cummings Architects is currently working on some conceptual drawings for the proposed community center addition, which should be completed in four to six weeks. The Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Community will get the first chance to comment on the plans, then send their recommendation on to city commissioners.

“We’re in the process of developing a few concepts. The intent is to renovate or build new,” Bouquet said.

“We’re about two years out,” said Lopez, referring to when construction on the proposed community center could begin. “This is all part of the Bahama Village visioning plan.”

A funding source for the proposed community center has yet to be identified. Funding for the renovated gym came from multiple sources, including $1 million from the sale of the city-owned Pier House and $250,000 from the Caroline Street Corridor and Bahama Village Community Redevelopment Authority. The rest came out of the city’s infrastructure fund, used to fund repairs and renovations to city-owned property.

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