GCOC Chair Terri Cortvriend shows off the new gym mezzanine.

A year after the Portsmouth high school gym opened (and six months after the official celebration), members of the community toured the newly finished 3,000 sqare foot mezzanine level today, hosted by the Gym Construction Oversight Committee (GCOC) and school district Facilities Director Don Davidson.

"I'm happy to see it to fruition," said GCOC chair Terri Cortvriend, "I look forward to seeing kids using this like they've been enjoying the space down below."

"I love it," said School Committee chair and GCOC member Sylvia Wedge. "Terri and I came in at the beginning and helped make this happen. When we came into office, they were still fighting [about previous designs] and it's very exciting to see it finished while we're still here."

The mezzanine, which sits at the East end of the gym, above the locker rooms, will be home to weights and aerobic machines in the coming weeks, according to Davidson. "We're going to move select equipment from the old gym [in the high school]," Davidson said, "And they are looking at converting the stage area there into a dance floor." Bids for the new equipment are just starting to come in, he added.

A flight of stairs leads up just inside the main doors of the gym, and on the opposite wall, an external stairwell and lift were added for ADA accessibility. A high rail runs along the front, and netting will be added, said Davidson, to keep stray basketballs out of the space.

The majority of the $425K cost of the project came from donations, said Cortvriend, in every size from a $25K grant from the Van Buren Foundation to friends and family who bought memorial bricks on the front walkway.

"Thanks to all the donors, large and small," said Cortvriend, "And to the Portsmouth Town Council for the use of impact fees that allowed us to open this beautiful space for the kids."