Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
When Kobe Bryant hooped at the Kaiserman JCC, there was no air conditioning.
The same holds true for amateur athletes, Jewish or not, who have exercised at the center in Wynnewood since it opened in 1971.
But that’s set to change.
Beginning this week, the JCC is starting work on an expansive one-million-dollar renovation project that is half-funded by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and it will see the JCC add an HVAC system and more to its exercise area. It is scheduled for completion this June.
Kaiserman JCC CEO Alan Scher joked that the environment created a unique sort of badge of honor for those who played in it.
“It’s almost become sort of a part of the ethos and culture of the gym, [with people saying], ‘I was able to sweat it out in the summertime at Kaiserman,’” he said. “Those days are done.”
The work will be expansive, including new LED lighting, new basketball hoop backboards and scoreboards, refurbished floors, a new roof and a refreshed interior design in addition to the HVAC system. The JCC will also add permanent pickleball lines to its court.
Half of the project is funded by Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which sees the state provide funds for “design, acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects,” according to the state’s website.
The JCC had to match the state’s $500,000 with its own funds, which its leaders were able to raise. Scher said that there is no doubt as to how the community feels about the project.
“It really is exciting for everyone who hears about it, because this gymnasium has been so well loved over the course of its history,” he said. “It’s the busiest space in our building. Generations of children have grown up in that gym.”
Thousands of people have called this facility their home court or home gym. Scher said that Kaiserman first fundraised for expansive renovations to its exercise facilities in the 1990s, which more than doubled the size of the JCC.
“One of the elements that was initially in the plans was air conditioning in the gym, and unfortunately, it came up a little bit short with some of their fundraising, and so that’s one of the elements that had to make it to the proverbial chopping block,” he said. “So it’s great that we’re able to deliver this critical component for the community right now.”
Scher said that the HVAC system will be particularly important for the more than 700 children who attend Kaiserman JCC’s summer camps.
“Those young people love to use our gym for a myriad of different programs, so to be able to utilize that with full HVAC beginning this summer is going to be really fantastic,” he said.
The construction will occur in two phases. Plans call for the first phase to take place from April 14 to May 12, with the second running from the end of phase one until June 15.
The first phase will see the gym and track closed for its entirety. During the second phase, the gym and track will be open with special safety protocols. The JCC said that some basketball and pickleball programming will be affected by these changes, with more information available upon request.
“From April 14 until May 12, that’s when we’re going to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting inside the space,” Scher said. “The goal is to get everything locked up and finished by the end of June.”
Whether the work is done in mid-June or the end of June, the community is excited for a new gym and all that comes with it. For Scher and the JCC team, this is actually just the beginning.
“The enthusiasm associated with this gymnasium renovation is just a microcosm for the momentum we’re building for the larger project, which is the overall renovation of the Kaiserman JCC,” he said.
The JCC is planning an overhaul that will see even more of the facilities upgraded, including the pool and other wellness areas.
“It’s going to be an even larger phase with probably triple the philanthropic investment,” Scher said. “We’re mapping that out now and looking to begin work on that phase sometime over the course of 2025 or 2026.”
