From the ground up

With phase one of the repairs and renovations on Wildermuth Intramural Center coming to a close in late February, the building is on track to open this summer.
Construction crews have made a number of improvements since the roof fire in late July 2011, which caused severe smoke and water damage to the intramural basketball courts, indoor track, ceiling and interior structure.

Jackie Puterbaugh, associate director of Campus Recreational Sports, said she understands the frustration of students and staff who were expecting the project to be completed by now.

She said when they were forced to close the facility to repair the fire damage, RecSports and the University seized the opportunity to implement several additional renovations to improve the existing space.

“This is probably the only time this is going to be done for years and years and years, so we might as well do it right,” she said. “Everyone really is working so hard to get things done as quickly as
possible.”

In late July, Mark Land, associate vice president of university communications, told the IDS the repairs would be complete by mid-September 2011. But the extensive water damage to the basketball courts and indoor track are forcing repairs to extend into the summer.

Puterbaugh said the first phase of repairs is almost complete. Construction and repair crews have replaced the damaged roof, cleaned and repainted the ceiling and interior beams a crisp white and restored the historical yellow brick walls that frame the almost-85-year-old building. The process of installing new lights is halfway done, and the broken windows on the west wall have been filled in with an insulating foam.

“It wasn’t just a simple clean-up,” Puterbaugh said.

In addition, RecSports paid to sandblast the staircases leading to the upstairs gym and have begun installing 10-foot-by-20-foot panels along the north and south walls of the lower gym. These panels will feature RecSports programming and intramural advertisements.

“We have been looking for a way to promote our programs and add a little color to the space,” Puterbaugh said.

Once the crews finish installing the new lights, the next phase of repairs will begin. The University will replace the five southern-most basketball courts and renovate the five north courts.

After the courts are finished, the crews will put a new tartan finish on the indoor track and separate the courts and track with a 5-foot clear wall.

The clear wall will replace the existing white-and-red barrier, and it “won’t obscure this cool building,” Puterbaugh said.

“Everyone has come together to make the best of a bad situation,” she said. “A tremendous amount of work has been done in the last six or seven months, and we have worked very hard to make sure we can still offer great programs.”

RecSports has created several new intramural sports, including inner tube water polo, to give students an opportunity to participate in activities while the courts aren’t available.