TCAPS Affirms Plans to Demolish 1958 Gym, Supports Wrestling Addition to Provide Four Total Courts

Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) trustees voted 6-1 Monday to affirm the board’s decision to demolish the 1958 gym at TC Central High School as part of an upcoming campus reconstruction. The move comes after a pause in which trustees fielded public complaints about the demolition and considered other options. That feedback led trustees to update plans to incorporate a new wrestling room addition that would preserve the school’s remaining gym spaces, bringing the overall court total to four instead of three.

TCAPS is gearing up for a multi-year renovation of TC Central that includes constructing a new secure main entrance to provide a single campus point of entry and controlled access for after-hours events. The approved approach calls for demolishing the school’s 1958 gym, building a new competition gym with two regulation courts, and creating a new dedicated wrestling room out of the auxiliary gym. ADA and safety upgrades are a key component of the project, which is estimated at $25.5 million and will be funded by the district’s 2024 bond.

TCAPS was preparing to go to bid in January and start construction in April, with a targeted January 2029 completion date. However, a late-stage campaign to preserve the old historic gym drew support from hundreds of community members. TCAPS paused the process to hold a community input session in October and address concerns about the design.

TCAPS Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Christine Thomas-Hill said Monday the delay means demolition will now start after school’s out next year, with the completion date shifting to March 2029. She said staff needed clear direction on how to proceed so construction documents can be finalized for the upcoming bid letting.

“If there's not a decision tonight, I would recommend a year delay,” she said. “Otherwise, we're rushing construction documents, we're rushing (the) bid.” Staying on track for timing is important to minimize construction disruptions during the school year, Thomas-Hill explained.

While trustees expressed sympathy about community efforts to save the gym, they noted they’ve gone through an extensive process to reach the recommended design. A variety of complex factors, from ADA accessibility to cost to long-term usability of the athletic facilities, informed the chosen approach. Though the plans were reviewed at multiple public meetings, trustees acknowledged the late backlash indicates they should have done more to solicit community input earlier on.

But most trustees weren’t willing to sacrifice a year by putting off the process any longer, particularly because of the risk of not having a secure main entrance. Central High is the only school in the TCAPS district not to have such an entrance outside of Central Grade School, which is under reconstruction and will have a secure entrance when complete. Board President Erica Moon Mohr noted the focus of the 2024 bond was to make schools “safe, dry, and warm,” adding that Central High continuing to lag on safety “makes me really nervous.”

One key piece of feedback that emerged from public input also resonated with trustees: a desire to have four instead of three courts at Central High. Trustee Ty Schmidt said he missed that three courts would be the outcome when the board unanimously approved the design approach last year. Moon Mohr said that “Central High School needs four (courts), couldn’t agree with that more.”

In addition to affirming their decision to demolish the 1958 gym, trustees voted Monday to support an option to build a new 3,400-square-foot wrestling room addition instead of converting auxiliary gym space for that use. The location of the addition is still being finalized but could go next to the weight room. The move would allow four total courts to remain in place at Central High, including a below-grade 1968 court. The estimated cost for the wrestling addition, which would be similar in size to TC West’s facility, is $750,000 to $1 million. The campus reconstruction budget already has $300,000 allocated for wrestling improvements, and Thomas-Hill said the rest could be made up in contingency funds left over in other projects.

Schmidt was the sole ‘no’ vote against the approach. While he said the new wrestling addition could ultimately be a good solution, it only came up for the first time Monday night. “My problem isn’t with this (option), my problem is with the process,” he said. He asked to delay a decision until trustees could get more information, calling it a “big, big decision.”

However, other trustees weren’t willing to risk the year-long delay by pushing back a decision most felt they had enough information to support. The board also still has the opportunity to give more input at future upcoming decision points, notably the review of the final construction drawings and budget and approval of construction contracts.

Particularly after the communication misfires over the design approach, trustees said it will be important to ensure families receive clear construction updates going forward. That’s especially true for families of student athletes, as there will be disruptions to some Central sports during the reconstruction. TCAPS Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner said there are several options for holding Central athletic practices and events elsewhere while work is underway, ranging from the new TCAPS fieldhouse under construction on Carlisle Road to East Middle School to the YMCA through a reciprocal space-sharing arrangement TCAPS has with that facility.