Winchester Board Votes to Demolish 66-Year-Old Gym, Build Multipurpose Facility

Parents in Winchester will see crews installing massive steel supports inside the elementary school gym as the district moves to tear down the 66-year-old building after inspectors found rotting, bowed support beams and a falling ceiling. The Winchester Community Unit School District board voted in a special session Feb. 27 to demolish the grade-school gym and hired Graham Hyde Architects to obtain a demolition permit and begin design of a temporary multipurpose building.

Inspectors first noticed a small bow in the roofline before the schools’ basketball invitational, and WLDS reports the gym ceiling was discovered falling on Jan. 15. WGEM reported that during inspections metal covers were removed from support beams, revealing rotting wood, bowing beams and shifted walls, prompting officials to condemn the structure.

Crews have installed metal shoring towers from the gym floor to the ceiling to hold the roof while the district prepares for demolition. WGEM quoted Superintendent Jeff Abell: “Each one is about 6,000 pounds once assembled and those are going to be spaced out the length of the gym and basically, they will support the roof in case or if there were to be anymore sagging, those shoring columns would hold it.” WLDS added that “parents will notice work on the gymnasium to stabilize the building Monday,” and that work at the rear of the gym “are safety mitigations that enables the school to continue to use the cafeteria and kitchen.”

District leaders say the multipurpose building will provide space for physical education and recess while the permanent gym is planned and built. WLDS reported the site for the structure will be just to the south of the current gym and adjacent to the grade school building, and emphasized “The building won’t be the gym.” The district told WLDS it needs the multipurpose building for grade-school gym and recess activities by next November.

WGEM reported the district plans to begin demolition this summer and to start building a new permanent gym in 2027. WLDS and WGEM both said the permanent gym “would take a couple of years to build.” WLDS also reported the board hired Graham Hyde Architects to get a demolition permit and begin the multipurpose design immediately after the Feb. 27 vote.

Financial details remain limited. WLDS reported the district is constrained in how it can use funding for the multipurpose structure, calling it “a line of credit limited to the new building.” The board has not released a vote tally from the Feb. 27 special session, and the district has not provided an exact demolition date or a firm construction schedule beyond the summer-demolition and 2027 start-window reported by WGEM.

District officials say stabilization work and the architect engagement are the immediate priorities as permit work and contractor selection proceed, with the multipurpose facility intended to bridge student needs while the district plans the longer, multi-year rebuild.