NYIT architecture and design students are using their flair for sustainable design to transform a Police Athletic League (PAL) boxing gym in Freeport, N.Y., into an Olympic-worthy community destination for fitness and health education.

On May 7, 2012, NYIT students presented Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick with their design for a renovated PAL boxing gym. The design adds nearly 3,000 square feet to an existing 1,600-square-foot building. 

Sustainable elements of the design include daylighting, radiant heating, solar thermal water heating, permeable paving, and recycled materials. Pictured is a rendering of an outdoor garden. Nutrition education is key to the gym's mission. 

The expanded gym will include the rendered office, storage, and utility room. The student-led design also features an open boxing gym with space for both raised and flat-practice boxing rings. 

The PAL boxing program is run by Freeport native Joe Higgins, a veteran trainer of male and female boxers for amateur Golden Glove and Olympic competitions. The rendering depicts the gym's exterior entrance in Freeport's Northeast Park. 

Strong academic performance, proper nutrition, and athletic discipline are the foundation of the gym's training program. The current facility is located in Freeport's Northeast Park. The rendering depicts an education lab. 

The boxing gym project emerged from NYIT's Design V - Community Design course in fall 2009, when students working in teams developed large-scale urban design proposals for transportation, water management, and planned growth of Freeport. 

Eleven NYIT students and two faculty advisors are currently involved in the design of the PAL boxing gym. Their next step will be a presentation at a televised Village of Freeport Board Meeting. The rendering depicts the gym from a southward approach. 

Current NYIT students involved in the PAL boxing gym project are: Mitalee Chawda, Korab Dragaj, Kahlil Francis, Daniel Francois, Chris Goodwin, Andrew Marich, Wagdy Moussa, Austin Reed, German Sentishchev, Ted Solages, and Alex Vaysse.