Dorri Pertain
Northeast News

Nestled among warehouses, as 18-wheelers rumble past, a new building has risen as a play space for the students at Frontier School of Innovation. Students, teachers, parents, and school officials welcomed the public to a ribbon-cutting celebration on Friday, October 27th to christen a new Frontier School gymnasium, located at 1575 Universal Ave. in Executive Park.

Ground for the school’s new gymnasium was broken in Oct. 2016, with the projected cost of $2.2 million. The final cost of the new addition came in at $2,640,366. The gym was designed by the architectural firm BNIM, and contractor Fogel-Anderson completed the project last month. Students were able to use the new facility for the first time on October 12th.

On October 27, guests were welcomed to the light-filled, spacious gym with light refreshments and a harp player. Speakers welcoming the crowd included Frontier Principal Dr. Mark Barber, Carlos Gomez, President and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Craig Scranton, architect with BNIM.

“It’s very versatile in how it works. Lots of opportunities for you to play basketball, volleyball, come up to the stage for performances,” Scranton told students as he described the building’s design. “(There’s also) lots of great daylight that’s great for learning, activities.”

Students representing their 4th-8th grade classes lined the stage for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, as one lucky student was handed the over-sized scissors. Soon the stage was filled with teachers and parents as well.
Hispanic Chamber President Gomez relayed his hope that students would enjoy the new gymnasium.
“This is all for you,” he said.