For 18-year-old Jordan Robitaille, there’s nothing better than scaling up a 45-degree wall without a harness.
Robitaille joined the Gainesville Rock Gym seven years ago, but now he’s forced to climb the wall he built during high school in his parent’s garage.
On Dec. 14, Robitaille traveled to the gym expecting to help with minor repairs on a wall.
Instead, the familiar padded carpet was removed — exposing cracked slabs of concrete and a wall sinking into the foundation.
“This was totally out of the blue,” he said. “Nobody had seen it coming.”
Co-owner of the gym Ken Hyneman said GSE Engineering and Consulting, Inc. inspected the building three days later and decided it wasn’t safe for occupancy.
“We feel fortunate that we uncovered it (the damage) when we did. It could have been much worse if we hadn’t,” Hyneman said.
As revenue halted, business expenses piled up. On Dec. 21, the gym started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to cover business loans, utilities and insurance. Hyneman said the building owner is responsible for repairing the damages.
As of press time, more than 160 supporters donated a total of about $9,900 toward the gym’s goal of $100,000.
“We are incredibly humbled by the outpouring of support that we’ve had from all of our members within the community,” he said.
Aside from the GoFundMe, First Magnitude Brewing Company is hosting a fundraiser Sunday. Several other fundraisers are listed on the gym’s Facebook page.
Hyneman said First Magnitude owners Meg The Losen and her husband, Wells The Losen, are longtime friends of the gym. He said their son, Jacob, is part of the gym’s youth-climbing team.
“We really care about the community,” Hyneman said. “We are seeing that the community cares about us too, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Hyneman said the gym might open the front half of its facility to bring in more money. He also hopes to keep up with expenses and open the gym in about two months, but, in the meantime, nearby gyms have shown support.
Sun Country Sports Center in Jonesville and The Edge Rock Gym in Jacksonville are offering reduced rates to Gainesville Rock Gym members who were registered for the Spring semester.
Robitaille commuted to the Jacksonville gym three times a week after the gym closed.
“I start itching if I don’t climb,” he said.
Other portions of the concrete slab foundation show signs of deterioration in need of repair.
Pictured is the sunken foundation of the Gainesville Rock Gym, at 704 S Main St., which has been closed since Dec. 17, 2015 after the discovery of the damage. A two-by-four is shown to illustrate the depth of the sunken floor.
