New Linderman Gym goes vertical

Nearly two and a half years after the Linderman Gym collapsed due to extreme winter conditions, progress on constructing a new gym is reaching visible milestones.

The Swank Enterprises crew working on the project has been using massive cranes to begin assembling the structural steel components over the last couple weeks. Polson School District superintendent Rex Weltz explained the workers made a lot of progress lately by completing the foundation with utilities installed throughout it, but it was hard to visibly see the progress. Now that the steel framing is going up, he said it’s easier to see the vision for the project come together.

“Now that the steel is going up in the air, we call it going vertical, you just get to see a lot going on,” Weltz said. “It’s pretty exciting when you see that go up… And we needed it, (the project) has been going on for a while so it is great to see.”

As the workers make progress with the structural frame, the contractor is also dealing with an issue found underground. A corner of the foundation from the Lincoln School building that resided on the property many years ago was found unexpectedly. The plan was to route the piping for a stormwater retention system, which is required by code, through that area. Now the civil engineer involved with the project will decide to either reroute the system, or another option is to just tear through the old foundation remnants.

“It’s not a deal-breaker, we know that if we have to, we’ll just go around that foundation and avoid it,” Weltz said. “I don’t know what the construction practices were when that was all taken down, but we’re finding parts and pieces of it now.”

Although reconfiguring the stormwater retention system is not causing a significant delay, COVID-19 precautions and restrictions are certainly affecting progress. Crews are limited to a max of 10 people onsite at any given time and are at times staggering schedules to get the most work done as possible.

There are hand sanitizing stations throughout the site and workers must be careful with social distancing and disinfecting products and tools.

“I think that’s my biggest concern (regarding progress) right now, is just what is the impact of COVID-19,” Weltz said.

But Weltz also said gratefully the coronavirus crisis has not caused any delay in obtaining materials. He is still pleased with the progress he is witnessing and can now see the timeline unfold. In the next week or two masonry workers will begin building the brick walls and using rebar to reinforce the steel structure.

Looking at the future building renderings designed by Paradigm Architecture out of Missoula, it shows an arched entryway which was thought of to bring some of the atmosphere of the old, barrel-shaped gym to the new facility. Weltz said the district also kept some of the old flooring and bleachers to hopefully tie into the interior design of the new gym — keeping years of memories alive.

“Our hope is that we see (those items) embedded into the new gym, in blending the old with the new,” Weltz said.

The gym’s estimated completion date is September 2021 and Weltz eagerly awaits that day when Polson will have a home gym again. Until then though, the district is immeasurably grateful for the hospitality and accommodations Salish Kootenai College continues to offer them.

“We are super thankful that SKC has allowed our kids to be there,” Weltz said. “I can’t say enough how thankful we are for that gym and for them allowing us to use it… But it’s just going to be really nice to have a Polson Pirate gym back here again.”

Reporter Whitney England may be reached at 758-4419 or wengland@leaderadvertiser.com