Bangor gymnastics school needs home

Rae Rogers can’t begin to count the thousands of youngsters who have taken lessons at her Penobscot Valley Gymnastics building on Hammond Street in Bangor.

But after 22 years of teaching balance beam routines and floor exercises, the club’s existence is being threatened.

Rogers, who has leased the building since she founded the gymnastics school in November 1979, said she received notice earlier this summer that the building had been sold. Rogers had 60 days to vacate the building, and that ends Sept. 30.

The trouble is, Rogers is still searching for a suitable space to move the school. And without the right dimensions, the Bangor YMCA competitive team, which has used the building at 556 Hammond Street for 18 years, will also be out.

Without the proper space, neither the school nor the YMCA program can function.

“I guess at this point it’s panic, just trying to find a place,” said Rogers, who is an Ellsworth resident.

The gymnastics program has very specific needs in terms of a space in which to practice and hold lessons. The space must also be suitable for YMCA meets, which have their own set of specifications.

Rogers is looking for a building that has a ceiling height of at least 16 to 20 feet and a floor space of 6,000 to 7,000 square feet, including a 45-by-45 area without any obstructions for the floor exercise and vaulting areas.

That kind of specific space is hard to find, Rogers said. She’s come close, and even thought about buying a building herself, but in the end those options had fallen through. She does have a few spaces in mind now, but isn’t optimistic.

“I keep hearing of things, but something always goes wrong,” she said. “There are a couple of places that might work out, but we’re just waiting.”

Rob Reeves, the executive director of the Bangor YMCA, said it would be sad to see the program go if nothing can be worked out.

Last year there were about 40 kids enrolled in the Bangor YMCA competitive team, Reeves estimated.

“It’s an active program and it’s quite large in Maine,” he said.

The YMCA does have space at the University College of Bangor campus, but only enough for lessons and not for the team, and that space already has another YMCA program scheduled for this fall.

The Hammond Street building had been for sale for several years, Rogers said, but never had any takers until T-Rex Imprinters, which is currently located at 543 Hammond, decided to buy it. That company plans to move in Oct. 1.

Call Rogers at 947-3860 or email rrogers@ct1.com with any ideas for space in the area.