Playtime:
Truckee Meadows Boys and Girls Club Expands
By Tony Illia

A $7.5 million upgrade at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows will soon mean more playtime for more children.

Founded in 1976, the club provides a positive environment for more than 2,000 youths living in the Reno-Sparks area. It offers sports leagues, leadership training and after-school tutoring for children ages 6- to- 18. Membership at the club has tripled in the last five years.

"As the population in northern Nevada escalates, so does the need for a larger Boys & Girls Club," said Maureen Woolsey, Boys & Girls Club's chief professional officer.
"Over the next decade, the youth population will exceed the senior population, and - it is vital that we provide a safe and positive environment for our youth."

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The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation lent a helping hand last year and awarded the Truckee Meadows club a $6.1 million grant for a major renovation/expansion. As a result, work began on a two-story, 40,000-sq.-ft. addition to the club's main building at 2680 E. Ninth Street in Reno. TNT Construction of Reno is the general contractor.

The project calls for a new 18,720-sq.-ft. gymnasium housing three basketball courts and , a 40- by- 12-ft. stage. The roof structure is supported by wood beams and joists for a 112-ft. clear-span interior. The single-level concrete tilt-wall structure uses 10-in.-thick insulated panels, which were cast onsite.

TNT is self-performing the concrete work. The largest panel measured 20- ft.- wide- by- 31- ft.- tall and weighed 72,000 lbs. In total, the project will require 1,600-cu. yards of concrete and 174 tons of steel.

In addition, the job entails a two-level block and structural steel addition housing a 4,575-sq.-ft. kitchen and 8,190-sq.-ft. youth center on the first level. The upper level contains a 6,360-sq.-ft. youth center with computer lab, seven offices, conference room, a library, two classrooms and lavatory. There is also a 2,500-sq.-ft. stand-alone block storage building and 154-space surface parking lot.

"One of the biggest challenges has been was keeping the facility operational while updating and renovating its electrical and mechanical systems," said Lee Arnold, TNT's vice president.

The tilt wall construction relies on concrete sandwhich panels with a 2-in. foam core for insulation, giving the walls an R facter of 19. Arnold said the tilt panels are similar to those used by Washington State farmers to vacuum preserve and refrigerate apples.

Having undergone several additions over the years, the most recent in 1991, the Boys & Girls Club had a mix of operating systems. The latest project required some thoughtful design in order to marry the existing building with its new addition. The Worth Group of Reno is the architect.

"We tried to bring some architectural design into it," said Fred Graham, Worth Group's project architect. "Due to the programming and site layout, it required some added engineering to tie the existing structure with the new construction."

For example, the old kitchen area at the entrance was moved to the side in order to reconfigure the foyer.

The building has split-face block on the lower level with painted metal and glass-storefront above. The architect opted for tough, resilient materials such as block and concrete that would wear well and stand- up to steady daily use.

"Kids can be rough on the materials," so we tired to make it as 'bullet-proof' as possible," Graham said. "We wanted to make the building as maintenance-free as possible."

The 73,900-sq.-ft. upgraded building is scheduled to open in June.

"[This] will allow us to serve more youth in our growing community, which now has an overall population of more than 300,000," Woolsey said.