Greenwich Country Day School Seeks To Build State-Of-The-Art Athletic Center

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich Country Day School has submitted a pre-application review request to the town's Planning & Zoning Commission for a new 54,000 square foot athletic center, and a lot line revision that's required with the project.

The pre-application process allows for a non-binding discussion with the commission about the pros and cons of a proposal before a substantial investment is made in developing plans, reports and studies.

According to documents submitted to P&Z, the proposed project is focused on the school's main campus, located at 401 Old Church Road.

In December 2020, NBA star Donovan Mitchell, who graduated from GCDS in 2012, donated $12 million to help the school provide need-based aid to students and to construct a new state-of-the-art gymnasium with an NCAA regulation sized basketball court.

"Man this means so much to me," Mitchell tweeted after the school announced the donation. "Not just building a brand new gym but giving scholarships to less fortunate kids who normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend private school."

GCDS Head of School Adam Rohdie called Mitchell "a man of the highest character" following the donation.

"He has lived his life embodying the Country Day creed of 'Tiger Pride,' which asks our students to be kind, empathetic, respectful, thoughtful and to act with the highest levels of integrity.”

GCDS anticipates submitting final site plan and special permit applications to demolish a portion of its existing athletic center, which houses the school's "small gym," and construct a 53,896 square foot gymnasium space.

There are no proposed changes to the school’s use of its athletic center at this time, application materials state.

The athletic center is currently used for gym classes for elementary and middle school students and for basketball for all grade levels, including high school students who use the gym after normal school hours and on weekends, according to the pre-application review request documents.

The entire GCDS community has also gathered in the gym once or twice a year, a tradition that's been in place for over 20 years.

In order to accommodate the new athletic center, the design team for the project, in consultation with the zoning enforcement officer, came up with a plan to incorporate 50 Fairfield Road into the school's campus and simultaneously remove 48 Fairfield Road.

The property at 50 Fairfield Road is a vacant parcel of land located to the south of the main GCDS campus.

The project has not been scheduled yet to go before the planning & zoning commission.