Building More Than a Gym: Woodside Priory’s New Athletic Center
This is not just a building or a gym; it's a community. It’s a place where our students will find joy, balance, and meaning, and where our shared values will come to life.
Building More Than a Gym: Woodside Priory’s New Athletic Center
By Ross Edwards, Jr., Co-founder & Chairman at Build Group
At Build Group, we believe that the most essential lessons don’t just happen in classrooms — they happen in the spaces where students discover their strength, their voice, and their community. That’s why we are honored to work with Woodside Priory School on the construction of its new Athletic Center, a project that represents far more than a building.
The 34,000-square-foot facility will serve as a welcoming hub for the Priory community. Designed with a mass timber structure and state-of-the-art, design-build MEP systems, the center is both innovative and sustainable. Inside, students will find a modern gymnasium for basketball, volleyball, and school gatherings, complete with retractable bleacher seating. Supporting spaces include locker rooms, gender-neutral restrooms, a training room, shared office space, a wellness studio, and a dedicated weight room.
Every detail reflects the Priory’s values: community, integrity, hospitality, and individuality. An inviting lobby with concessions ensures that families feel connected during games and events. At the same time, a centrally located site enhances pedestrian accessibility between the upper campus, the track, and parking areas. The design also features an interior stair and elevator, seamlessly linking the facility’s two levels and ensuring that all community members can fully participate.
Yet what makes this project so meaningful isn’t just its design or scale. It’s the way the Athletic Center has grown into an expression of Woodside Priory itself — a space that brings people together, nurtures wellness, and fosters balance in the lives of students and families.
As Patrick Ruff, Head of School at Woodside Priory, reflected: “What began as an update to our athletic facilities has evolved into something much more significant — a reflection of who we are as a community. This is not just a building or a gym; it’s a community. It’s a place where our students will find joy, balance, and meaning, and where our shared values will come to life.”
For Build Group, this project is also a testament to the power of partnership. The collaboration between our team, Woodside Priory, EHDD Architecture, and DCI Engineers has been rooted in trust and a shared vision: to create a facility that not only serves programs but also elevates the experience of everyone who walks through its doors. The use of mass timber — a modern, sustainable building material — adds warmth and character while reflecting the school’s commitment to integrity and stewardship.
In many ways, the Athletic Center is more than an addition to campus infrastructure; it’s an investment in the next generation. Students will gather here for practices and games, for celebrations and wellness, for moments of challenge and growth. Families will gather here to support and connect, strengthening the bonds of community. Faculty and staff will find in it a place to continue nurturing the whole student — mind, body, and spirit.
At Build Group, we’re humbled to help bring this vision to life. As builders, we know how to deliver concrete, wood, and steel. But what excites us most is when those materials are shaped into something greater — when they become the foundation for memories, learning, and human connection.
The Woodside Priory Athletic Center will stand as a reminder that the spaces we build together can shape more than skylines. They can shape the lives of those who use them. And that, to us, is the most important work of all.
