Proctor Academy is excited to announce the planned construction of a new Outdoor Center on the west end of campus after an anonymous gift of $3,000,000 catalyzed the project. Long committed to outdoor sports, the construction of the Proctor Outdoor Center reaffirms our institutional belief in the benefits of year-round outdoor activities.
This new building will serve as the home base for rock climbing, mountain biking, and kayaking teams in the fall, snow sports in the winter, and cycling and kayaking in the spring. With well over 50% of Proctor students engaged in an outdoor activity/sport throughout the year, the new facility will include state of the art workshops, tuning rooms, and storage areas for outdoor gear and equipment, while also providing a new indoor climbing wall and work space for Mountain Classroom and other outdoor program leaders. While the final floor plan and design are still being finalized, the below floor plan provides a rough idea of the use of space in this flexible, multi-season facility.
With a scheduled ground breaking in early April., an aggressive construction timeline has the facility complete and open for use by December 2019. Sited to the south and west of the Teddy Maloney ‘88 Rink, the Proctor Outdoor Center will replace the existing “fire shed” that insufficiently houses Proctor’s outdoor sports programming.
The Outdoor Center will expand current programmatic space for each sport, while also providing shared resources across programs. With trails leading out the back door of the Outdoor Center to Proctor’s 2,500 acres of woodlands, the goals of the anonymous donor is to increase access to outdoor sports for Proctor’s students, faculty, and staff. Head of School Mike Henriques shares his enthusiasm for this unexpected, but much needed addition to campus, “We are thrilled that from kayaking to USSA/FIS skiing, from mountain biking to rock climbing, from Wilderness Orientation to Mountain Classroom, so many of Proctor’s unique programs will be both supported and celebrated with the new Outdoor Center. It will functionally serve students, coaches, and program directors, while also being visible evidence of critical strands of the Proctor DNA."
Athletic Director Gregor Makechnie ’90 adds, “The building of an Outdoor Center dedicated to the outdoor activities and sports core to Proctor's identity as a school is not only exciting for our current athletes, coaches, and families, but for the future of these programs. The considerable upgrades in terms of workshop space, secure storage areas, and meeting space in this building, will enhance the experience of hundreds of Proctor students and coaches, while attracting new families to Proctor who share our affinity for outdoor activities. We are incredibly grateful to our anonymous donors for their vision and shared belief in the getting our students outside through active sports."
As we break ground on this project and finalize interior designs and layout in the coming weeks, we will be sure to share additional updates. It is an exciting time to be a part of Proctor as our infrastructure evolves in support of our mission.
