Creating an Abundant Future: Downtown Athletic & Wellness Center

With the new Francis Parker name and brand, we have clarified our identity and boldly staked our claim as the only Preschool – 12th grade Progressive school in the area. In addition, we have accomplished all our goals in our Campaign to Create an Abundant Future for the School, except for this one final project.

For decades, we have dreamed of building an athletic, wellness, and gathering space on the Downtown Campus for our High School students. Teenagers need a place to blow off steam and engage in recreation during their busy days at school.Our students deserve to have athletic and wellness facilities onsite in order to fulfill their individual interests and needs, and the School needs these facilities in order to fully achieve our Progressive approach to teaching and learning, which includes well-rounded athletic, recreational, and physical education programs.

We envision a multipurpose athletic and wellness center that will become the central gathering space for our Downtown Campus and have the capacity to accommodate a wide range of activities for our students, the school community as a whole, and the broader Louisville community.

The Downtown Gym & Wellness Center will be where we come together to learn, work, play, celebrate, and collectively show our Wyvern pride.

With the Athletic and Wellness Center we can:

  • Have a reliable, state-of-the art, home court facility for our volleyball and basketball teams
  • Eliminate frequent transportation issues and costs
  • Provide easy access for students and families to attend and cheer on the Wyverns
  • Allow recreational opportunities for the whole student body throughout the school day, particularly during free periods and lunch, as well as before and after school
  • Provide more robust physical education offerings
  • Host Graduation and other large all-school events
  • Welcome the Louisville community to events hosted by the School
  • Create opportunities for partnerships with community organizations that serve students after school, on breaks, and during the summer

Help us realize our vision.

Help us turn this vision into a reality! Your philanthropic investment will help provide the Francis Parker community with the space we need to strengthen our athletic programs, enhance school spirit, expand our community connections, and fulfill our dreams for the future.

Your support for this project also helps advance the revitalization of Downtown Louisville by helping us add an architectural treasure that enhances the aesthetic and appeal of the surrounding Broadway corridor, which will positively impact our friends and neighbors, as well as the city as a whole.

How to Give:

  • Individual gifts, which can include multi-year pledges and one-time cash gifts, as well as gifts of stock and securities
  • Corporate sponsorships
  • Charitable IRA rollovers
  • Gifts of time and service to support fundraising efforts

Naming opportunities available

For more information on how to get involved, contact Director of Advancement Bethany Heckel at 502-795-3890 or by email at bheckel@francisparkerlouisville.org.

This would be a big help not only to the basketball teams but as a student during my free periods I think it would be amazing to just be able to hang out in a new and bigger space. This would probably bring a new energy to the community for us students and it should be implemented as soon as possible so we can bring in more people to the school.

– High School Student

Project Details

At just under 23,000 square feet, the Athletic and Wellness Center will become the largest space on the Downtown Campus. It will be built on the existing flat parking lot and will be connected to the School’s current facilities through the ground floor Wyvern Indoor Turf and Training Center, as well as through the Courtyard. Parking will then be on the adjacent lot behind McDonald’s, also owned by the School. This building will be an architecturally stunning addition to downtown Louisville, and will include:

  • Regulation basketball and volleyball courts (including two horizontal basketball practice courts)
  • Locker rooms
  • Bleacher seating
  • Concession stand
  • Restrooms
  • Athletic Offices
  • Flexible classroom space TBD

A History of Success

  • 2014 | $3.7 million | Goshen Gym: Opened in August

  • 2014 | $50,000 | Preschool Playground Renovation

  • 2015 | $50,000 | Middle School Playground Renovation

  • 2016 | $2.8 million | High School Expansion and Science Wing Renovation

  • 2019 | $1.6 million | Purchase of Gray’s Bookstore

  • 2019 | $3.6 million | Goshen Main Amp, Theater and Lobby Renovation

  • 2021 | $1.4 million | Indoor Turf and Training Center