By Emma Shuford ’22 News Reporter
The new Lloyd Aquatic Center is a stunning facility that has brought lots of excitement to Mercersburg Academy. However, as this new facility opens, the current Flanagan Pool is embarking on an exciting transformation of its own. While there is no official decision about the future of the space, the Flanagan Pool is going to be converted to another state-of-the-art athletic facility.
The Flanagan Pool is included in Mercersburg Academy’s master plan for facilities on campus. Katie Titus, the Head of School, described that master plan. She said, “The school is beginning the process of a comprehensive campus master plan which will help us to identify our campus needs for the future and how to most effectively use our spaces.”
The Lloyd Aquatic Center was part of the master plan, and now that it is completed, members of the school will revisit that plan and decide the future of the Flanagan Pool. Rick Hendrickson, the Director of Athletics, added that the master plan includes every facility on campus, athletic facilities, but also dorms and academic buildings. The school’s priorities for renovating and creating new spaces on campus, like the Flanagan Pool, are determined by programming needs of the school and its students.
The Flanagan Pool is not going to remain a pool. Although its future has not been determined, there is a timeline in place. The Board of Regents will discuss possibilities along with other school leaders, and the plan will hopefully be formulated and available to the community by the end of the year.
Brian Nordyke, the Director of Facilities, said, “If I had to guess, I would say it is at least two to three years away from being renovated and repurposed. It will involve programming the new use, developing designs, then renovating the space.”
Titus said that one idea for the new space is “to create a modern fitness center with multipurpose areas to serve our whole community. This would bring our fitness room to the first floor of [the newly named] Goldthorpe [Athletic Center], opening up possibilities for the use of the current fitness space for other uses.” However, no decisions have been made.
There are endless possibilities for the Flanagan Pool. It comprises 9,000 to 11,000 square feet of space. No matter its eventual purpose, it will become an area the entire Mercersburg community can enjoy. Hendrickson said, “The goal is to be able to provide what we want for students and the fitness and wellness components of things.” It is very important to him and to the school that the Flanagan Pool becomes a space that is student-based and fulfills the needs of the community.
Furthermore, there may also be an opportunity for students to become involved in the process. Titus said, “This is exactly the kind of work that intersects the school with our Board of Regents, and if there are any students who have a keen interest in planning or construction, I would love to provide access to this process to a few students.”
Whatever the Flanagan Pool becomes, it will enrich the lives of everyone in the Mercersburg community and will possibly provide opportunities to students during the process of its transformation.