THUNDER BAY — The Underground Gym is looking to take its south end youth centre to the “next level” with an ambitious renovation plan.
The renovations will allow the centre, located on Victoria Avenue, to expand to provide career training opportunities to vulnerable youth, particularly in the trades, said founder Peter Panetta.
“I wanted to have the trades available to them as well as a possible apprenticeship and a career. That’s the objective.”
He hopes to partner with unions to provide training in fields including electrical, woodworking, and mechanical. The centre also has an existing hair salon.
Providing career training is a logical evolution in the organization’s mission, allowing it to not just support children’s needs in the present, but set them up for success as they grow into adulthood, Panetta said.
“If this happens and they see there’s a future in store for them, that’s huge. And it’s right at the Underground, which makes it even easier — they don’t have to go anywhere else. This is, [for] a lot of them, where they grew up.”
The project will be a heavy lift, he acknowledged. The roughly 5,000 square-foot second floor currently has no heat, no water, and is “pretty dilapidated.”
A contractor recently provided a rough cost estimate of $250,000 to renovate the entire floor.
Still, looking at the space, he sees opportunity.
“There’s 5,000 square feet here," he said, "there’s a lot of room.”
He intends to bite off the work in chunks, hoping to begin by renovating two rooms in the space.
The fundraising campaign got a healthy head start with a recent $5,000 donation from Newmont Musselwhite, with a commitment of another $5,000 in January.
The organization has reached out to other potential major funders, and is also looking to fundraise in the community.
Underground Gym has charitable status and can provide tax receipts, and donors will be asked to specify if funds are for the second floor renovation, rather than regular operations.
Those donations are a sound investment in the future of the community, Panetta said.
The Underground Gym moved into the 10,000 square-foot Victoria Avenue location in 2020. The move was a necessity after its previous home on Simpson Street suffered severe water damage after a fire at an adjacent building the year before.
The organization has renovated the first floor to offer features including a gym with a boxing ring and fitness equipment, an art room, computer, lab, and peer support room.
With files from Mike Lang, TBT News
