Family Violence Prevention Services

The Family Violence Prevention Services  gym project was partially funded by the City of San Antonio through a municipal bond.

Steve J. Markey, managing partner at Whitestone Wealth Management, provided guidance to FVPS.  His background serving on the boards of the San Antonio Area Foundation, San Antonio Sports Foundation, Make a Wish Foundation, and other groups gave him unique experience and insight to help steer the project.

Craig Massouh, with CGM and Associates located in New Braunfels, Texas was the project architect.  He has provided design and project management services on several projects for FVPS since 2006.

Craig has also worked on projects for South Texas Electric Cooperative, New Braunfels Food Bank, and Waste Management to name a few.  But, it’s not all new construction.  On the Electric Cooperative project he redesigned a 1960’s electric generator building into an inviting corporate space.  The repurposed  building still includes the original generator.  Only now, the old generator is a central art feature overlooked by private offices and meeting rooms.

Craig’s experience spans over 40 years.  And, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down.  His current project is a animal shelter.  Check his website or Linked In page to get a better look at Craig’s work.

Sullivan Contracting Services (SCS) located in Seguin Texas was the general contractor for the Family Violence Prevention Services gym.  SCS was founded in 1997 by Frank and Kelle Sullivan.  In 2013, they sold the business in order to focus on the construction of their new volleyball facility, Tiger Sports Complex.

Trey and Kimberly Pounds took over as the new owners.  But, they’re not new to construction.  Before buying SCS, Trey spent 15 years working for a large national general contractor.  The total value of the projects he’s managed exceeds $1,000,000,000.  And, that’s where Kimberly comes in.  She’s the company’s President and CFO, providing oversight to ensure ongoing financial health of the business.

Unlike many general contractors, SCS employs a variety of in house tradesmen.  This provides for tighter controls on scheduling and greater attention to detail.  Indeed, they do in house metal fabrication and steel erection as well as industrial painting.  Of course, they also have trusted sub-contractors to handle anything their crews don’t do.

Please contact Sullivan Contracting Services to learn more about their services or for pricing.

The gymnasium was laid out with interior wall to wall measurements of roughly 74’ x 58’.  We were sent a preliminary design which included a volleyball court, primary basketball goals at each end, and two additional basketball goals along each side of the court.  All of the goals were to be ceiling mounted.  We recommended that the side court goals be eliminated.  And, rather than suspending the main goals from the ceiling, we recommended wall mounted units.  The elimination of the extra side goals and going with wall mounts for the two remaining goals would save $25,000 to $30,000.

If Photo Galleries Do Not Load,
Please Click Left or Right Scroll Arrows

We recommended stationary wall mount basketball goals from Gared Sports.  These are available with several options, including different types of backboards and rims.

We installed 6’ glass backboards, model LXP4200, that have a heavy steel frame.  These boards exceed all guidelines for collegiate and professional play.  In fact, they have a break strength that is greater than any other mass produced glass backboard.

We went with collegiate break away rims, model 2000+.  These rims have quick and easy no-tie net attachment and they’re almost indestructible.  We recommend these rims on almost every project.

Height adjusters to lower the rims down to 8’ were installed on both goals.  This is a feature common to facilities that host younger children.  The height adjusters are available with electric motors.  But, this requires extra wiring and control boxes.  So, we went with manually operated height adjusters to stay in budget.

Sport Court® high gloss Maple Select gym flooring was chosen for the Family Violence Prevention Services gym.  This floor provides unique lateral shock absorption qualities to help reduce injuries.  No other floor, including rubbery vinyl floors, provide this level of safety.  Indeed, cushioned vinyl floors often have too much traction or grip.  This frequently causes injuries on these types of vinyl floors.  But, Sport Court® is different.  It’s not vinyl.  And, it’s engineered to be safer.

In addition to the unparalleled safety of Sport Court® flooring, it’s a durable surface.  The FVPS gym is a mixed use facility.  It’s often used for large group events where tables and chairs are spread across the floor.  And, if a piece of Sport Court® flooring is damaged, that’s ok.  The flooring is designed for 20 second replacement.  In other words, a single piece of Sport Court® flooring can be replaced in about the time it took you to read this paragraph.

Of course, to be a worthwhile gym floor, there has to be good ball bounce, no dead spots, and the right amount of traction.  Sport Court® leads the way in all these areas.

The volleyball system we recommended was the OmniSteel system from Gared Sports, model 5100.  This model has 3” steel telescoping uprights with pin lock net height adjustment.  It’s a volleyball system designed for competitive play.  So, it’s extremely durable and can take a lot of abuse.  But, it’s priced lower than similar systems.  And, a great thing about this model is the thick adjustable rubber foot on each post.  As a company that installs gym floors, we like these rubber feet because they protect gym floors.

We installed a vertical volleyball storage bracket in the gym’s equipment closet.  This holds the volleyball uprights securely against the wall, out of the way.  We’ve been providing these on every project the past coupe of years.  It’s a safety feature.  Volleyball posts are tall and heavy.  We don’t want these falling on anyone due to improper storage.

The wall pads were the last items we installed in the gym.  Ordinarily, we install the pads before the flooring.  But, since the project was using a mix of city bond funds and money from FVPS, there were some understandable delays.  Indeed, approval for the pads came many months after the flooring had been delivered.

To ensure good attachment of the wall pads, Sullivan Contracting Services wrapped the gym in plywood.  This is an ideal surface for hanging wall pads.

After the plywood was installed, we gathered precise measurements along each wall.  This enabled us to have the pads made to the exact size for each wall section and each column.  Ordering wall pads in this way, reduces install time, because pads don’t have to we unwrapped, cut, and rewrapped to fit at corners or doorways.  Of course, cutouts for electrical, HVAC, and fire extinguishers have to be done on site.

To learn more about Sport Court® gym flooring or to get our expert assistance laying out your gym, please contact South Texas Sport Court.