A New Gym for Jewart's Big Week at the Gym 10.11.08 Things seem to be moving fairly quickly at this point. The main gym is almost done from a construction standpoint except for the lights. We also will need final checks on the furnaces, and sprinkler system. The frame of the connector was finished this week with the competion of the windows, trim and flashing. The drywall is about finished and the paint, doors and trim are next in the connector. I hope you are all thrilled with the parking lot. All we need is the linestriping done. The exciting news was the delivery of the equipment this week. Thanks to Scott, Alex, Justin, Jeff, Aiden, Tim and our dear friend Terry Bittner we unloaded four truckloads of equipemnt and put together the bungie system for the pits and the inground trampoline and tumble trac. Constructing the spring floor will be th enext big project. 1600 valve springs need to be ratcheted to the wood and for Kamelia we need to glue 2025 ethafoam cubes to the bottom of her floor. Lots of staples and velcro will hold the two layers of plywood together. There are not a lot of big things left to do but a host of little things. I can't believe I started this in January 2007. I can't believe the big difference it will make for all of our programs. Thank you all for youro encouragement and patience. The new USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Training Center will be ready soon. Yeah!!!!! New Gym Update 9.11.2008 It’s been a while since I put out a report on the state of the new gym. From where I sit, things look pretty exciting. It’s hard to believe we started construction on July 7th and we are this far along. Getting the frame of the building up is almost completed. The majority of the windows and doors are just about done. Believe it or not….the erection of the building is just a fraction of the work that needs completed. (Side note: Tom and I spent Labor Day weekend with the help of Tim and Alex painting 38 of the 47 windows in the new gym connector.) What fun!!! The furnaces and exhaust fans are in place and “electrified” as my electrician puts it. We are now ready for the next phase which will include the electrical, plumbing and sprinkler system. Next week we will also begin construction of the coaches’ office, utility room bathrooms and locker rooms. Simultaneously with the construction, we need to get all of the equipment ordered. Then will come the assembly and installation of floors, pits and matting systems to get us up and running. This phase will be time sensitive and urgent and we hope we will be able to count on all you Dads for support. The final phase will be deconstructing the old gym and putting all the equipment in place. Once again we will need mega help. A note about the economic times we are going through: As you can imagine if you have had your car repaired or ordered any item to be delivered, since we started this project in January 2007 the cost estimates are pretty much a big laugh. (Not!!!) The price of petroleum products, has gone through the roof. For us that is our landing mats, foam blocks , resi pits, and floor mats and parking lot material. Foam blocks for the pit went from $2.25 to $3.00 a piece. (Ugh!) Steel prices have gone up anywhere from 25 to 50% and for us that is our building, doors, framing, plumbing and sprinkler system. Freight is also another area that has really seen a huge increase. This surely has been a great learning experience for me. (A big thanks to Tom Chernoff for helping me get through this.) Not withstanding, this week we will begin ordering the equipment we will need to get the gym up and running and continue our construction as speedily as possible. The parking lot and landscaping will complete the outside work and are currently being done in small chunks around the not yet completed construction and current classes. Thank you all for your cooperation. W e are so grateful for all of you who have signed up to be part of Jewart’s again, and we hope you will continue to tell your friends and neighbors about the work we love to do developing the talents and character of the kids who come to the gym....And most importantly, what a great sport gymnastics is for your children. Check the Photo Gallery on our website to see pictures of our building project. Update from July 7,2008 The last update was April 6,2008. Boy! At that time I weas sure things would begin to look like a gym. To say I am naive in the world of construction is not even a question. What it clearly shows me is that in the world of business, people are human and personal problems in the service industry can bring things to a grinding halt. Babies, aging parents, weddings, vacations and illnesses can cause delays and missed deadlines. Then there are cumbersome government rules that need to be interpreted and regulated, ......... Long story short, with much excitement and clear optimism on our part we have recieved our building permits and we got the go ahead to start construction on the gym. The foundation and excavation of the pits are underway as phase 1 of the process. In the meantime,everyone is busy working hard to get ready for the 2008-2009 season. Our staff attended the USAG Congress and Olympic Trials in Philadelphia in June. The American women are amazing. The battle for the gold will definitely be between the US and China, the host team. 8.08.08. The opening dates for the Olympics. Keep an eye on this site for updates on our new Junior Olympic Training Center. Let's go Northstars! Let's Go USA!!! Update from April 6,2008 When the sun comes out things will not only be brighter but less muddy at the gym. As you know, construction is underway. "Temporary inconvenience ... permanent improvement" as the saying goes. We had a rough start with three solid days of rain after they peeled the asphalt and top soil off the site, but it will be closer to the end with each passing day. Progress-wise, we are working on the site, and I'm sure you can see our really cool retention pond as you pull into the parking lot. Approval of our engineered drawings for the building is the next big step. Regarding parking... please be patient. You have to keep your eyes on the prize. But I will say in all honestly, everyday will present a new set of challenges. With workers, deliveries, and construction the best I can guarantee is that my coaches are doing a great job with the kids and we will have the most beautiful gym in the region in just a few weeks. We have a new parking diagram that we will pass out to you so please do your best to help us get through this phase. I would also ask that you don't come in to the lot talking on a cell phone, as it makes it harder to give directions and for you to see any pattern of parking and drop off/pick up. It is really going to be awesome soon.... Mrs. J February 15, 2008 Finally, good news!!! Imagine a beautiful parking lot with all the amenities of a new facility: Landscaping and lights. NO more pot holes. NO more puddles. It’s a dream come true…soon to be underway. Now imagine the kids having more space to learn their cartwheels, more opportunities to work with their teachers on the apparatus, more fun time in the gym. I can see it now! It’s in full Technicolor. It’s got more room for everything. I can go on and on. But... we still have got work to do and a long way to go. I’ve been waiting to write this letter, and after a long year of meetings and planning, budgeting and waiting we finally signed our loan agreements with Nextier bank and the SBA last week. Although we have a few loose ends to clear up, we hope to get our site development permits from Hampton Township this week. The initial construction will make a huge impact on the gym parking lot from the get-go. I am meeting with the site development team tomorrow and as the actual construction gets underway, I will be sending memos on any changes that we need to make for drop off, pick up and parking. In the meantime, please help us recruit new kids… preschoolers, tumblers, possible rhythmic girls, boys, gymnasts or climbers. What are our goals for the new building? Our goal is to construct a new gymnasium adjacent to the existing gym on the rear of the property. The new gym will be 90' X 130' and will house the Pittsburgh Northstar competitive teams, artistic and rhythmic. The rhythmic program nwill have a separate floor mat with a hard surface and additional ceiling height. This transition will allow he "cheer / tumbling" program to have a separate space to grow and develop and will allow the Recreation program to have the main floor space they need to provide better opportunities for the children. The Jewels, Lucky Stars and Big Dippers will have use of the main gym and equipment for their classes and we will have additional space downstairs to run specialty classes for adults or kids. December 1st, 2007 It's been a while since I updated the site because there has been no progress on the building. We have been waiting for approval for our NPDS permit. You get this permit when the Department of Environmental Protection approves your storm water management plan. We were stymied because there was possibly a "rare trillium" in the vicinity of our building and we needed to hire an environmental specialist to survey the grounds and send in a report to Harrisburg. I've discovered that all of the approvals take up to 90 days to get reviewed and if there are "comments" you go back to the drawing board to reconfigure your plans and then wait again to see if you "pass." It is a very tedious process for someone like me who jumps into a project and attacks with vigor to play the waiting game. I am still excited to get final approval from Hampton township regarding all of the necessary details for a building permit. In the meantime, classes are doing great. The kids are getting better everyday and I thank you all for your patience. Please be careful in the parking lot until things are finally resolved. August 30,2007 Well classes are about to start and I'm really excited to get the gym up and running again. Unfortunately we are still playing the waiting game regarding the new addition. We finally made all the necessaary changes to the engineered drawings and hope we will get approval from Hampton Council at the September meeting. We have applied for permits to the Department of Environmental Protection and Penn Dot. With the flooding caused at Girty's Run during the last storm, I understand the need to protect the environment. This wee we also finalized the architecture drawings of the new gym and entry. Hopefully, I'll have a rendering for you all to see in the coming weeks. My only regret is that the parking lot didn't get finished this summer. But I'm sure when it's all said and done...it will be worth the wait. So, Happy Labor Day. See you in the gym. UPDATES August 1, 2007 The new parking lot is coming. When? I'm not sure...but please be patient. It will be worth the wait. What an education I'm getting: Storm water management, retention ponds, wetland deliniation, NES permit, DEP permit, Penndot permit, Hampton Township permit,...not as easy as I thought. We have meetings this week and applications to submit...I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, enjoy the summer. Remember, we open the day after Labor Day. See you then. July 1, 2007 In March of 2007 the dream of building a new gym took its first steps to becoming a reality. For the last few years we have worked around existing conditions to provide great programs for our pre-schoolers, class students and team kids. But when the parking lot exploded into what I affectionately named "Baghdad," I knew the time had come to take the big step. The project has to balance three main conditions: Budget, codes and time constraints. We have been working on site development, fiancial approval and design for the new facility. We feel the additional space will allow every program to have more space, better class time choices and new opportunities. Where are we in the project? Drawings were submitted to Hampton Township for approval on June 13th. Engineering plans for regrading the parking lot and providing a storm water management plan will be reviewed for the next couple months. Hopefully, without a delay we can get a permit by the end of summer. Hampton Technical, the engineers and Susan Tusick and Associates, the architect are in charge of prelimanary plans for the approvals. July 16, 2007 Brand new info: We are now applyng for a PennDot permit to change the entrance and exit to the existing parking lot. When the lot is finished we will have a new traffic pattern to enter the lot and drop off. My goal was to have the upper lot and storm water lines in by the first of September but that will depend on how soon we can get permits. We also need to get permits from the Department of Environmental Protection approving our plan for tree removal and excavation. This sure is more work than I bargained for. The extra space will also allow us to inplememnt a USAG Tumbling and Trampoline program. Watch for more updates as details become available.