By LINDA CHION KENNEY
High-growth demand for recreation and event space is behind the recently completed gym expansion at the Spurlino Family YMCA off Big Bend Road in Riverview.
That’s where Kenny Jenkins, superintendent in charge of construction from start to finish, spent many days and many hours overseeing the project for Creative Contractors Inc., where he has worked for 11 years.
It’s the latest job in Jenkins’ long career as a builder, including for a contractor that shuttered down during the Great Recession in 2008.
The autographed guitar gifted to Kenney Jenkins of Creative Contractors, job supervisor for the Spurlino Y gymnasium expansion in Riverview
Overall, “the work is fascinating to do,” said Jenkins, who endured a long commute from New Port Richey in Pasco County to oversee the construction job in south Hillsborough County. “It’s all just a lot of fun.”
That’s the operative word as well for a space that aims to draw kids and adults into the Spurlino gymnasium expansion for volleyball, pickleball, basketball, exercise classes, training, summer camp programs, events and more.
According to YMCA officials, the newly completed 18,345- square-foot gymnasium provides “additional space to help more than 500 more families in our community grow and thrive together.”
More specifically, the gym doubles the capacity for summer camp programs, from 2,000 to 4,000 campers each summer, with increased indoor air-conditioned time. With the gym comes the introduction of youth volleyball and pickleball leagues, adult sports leagues, pickleball instruction and more.
The gym allows also for the expansion of group exercise programming — including for boot camp, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), family classes and small group training — as well as increased hours for pickleball open play on six designated indoor courts.
Overall, the work “was fascinating to do,” Jenkins said about the tilt-wall construction project, for which he received a special gift upon completion.
“They surprised me,” Jenkins said, about staff members at the Y, who at a meeting after the project’s completion, called Jenkins in to give him a special gift.
For Jenkins, a musician at heart, who has played in many bands and has many guitars and an organ at home, the gift was one more guitar for his collection, only this one was signed by YMCA workers for whom the Spurlino gym expansion had been eagerly awaited.
The Spurlino Family YMCA’s gymnasium is officially opened. The facility opened a day before Spurlino Family YMCA’s sixth anniversary. Located at 9650 Old Big Bend Rd. in Riverview, the $6.6 million gym is 18,345 square feet and provides space for 500 additional community families.
“It was very, very surprising and heartwarming, to say the least,” Jenkins said. “It topped off a great project, one I’m really proud to have been a part of, and it was very, very surprising, to say the least. It was pretty cool.”
Written on the guitar are sentiments that pay tribute to the job itself and to the upright man Jenkins showed himself to be.
“It was really a pleasure getting to know you and having you here,” Coach Ken wrote. “Thank you for all you did and making this gym transition so comfortable. You will be missed.”
One memory Jenkins takes with him involves an autistic man in his 20s, “a very nice guy who had a guitar” at Spurlino, Jenkins said. “I’d tune it for him, and every two days, Tuesdays and Thursdays, he’d ask, ‘Where’s Kenny?’” It was Anny, who on the guitar thanked Kenny for “the chocolates, the candies, the great advice” and most of all “for always wearing a smile and being so kind.”
Again, “It surprised me,” Jenkins said, of the personalized gifting. “I didn’t expect a guitar, or anything for that matter. It was just really cool, and it topped off a great project that I’m really proud to have been a part of.”
With memories such as these in mind, in a newly expanded gym, Spurlino employees hope to build an even deeper sense of community in the ever-expanding Riverview community and beyond.
Creative Contractors Photos
Kenny Jenkins, outside the Spurlino gymnasium expansion, with his gifted autographed guitar
“We take great pride in building spaces like the new gymnasium at the Spurlino Family YMCA that became part of the fabric of our community,” said Josh Bomstein, president and CEO of Creative Contractors, in a prepared statement. “Projects like this not only promote health and wellness, but serve also as a connective gathering space for families and neighbors.”
In reference as well to the expanded space for indoor events and activities involving families, seniors, business people and other community members, Bomstein added, “We are grateful to play a small role in bringing this meaningful community facility to life.”
The Spurlino Family YMCA is at 9650 Old Big Bend Road in Riverview. Visit www.tampaymca.org and select the Spurlino location. The building is LEED Gold certified and in 2019 won a design award from the Hillsborough County Planning Commission.