Some facilities at Benton Harbor Area Schools are receiving a facelift for the upcoming school year.

Work began last week on new gym floors at Benton Harbor High School and Fair Plain Middle School. District Athletic Director Michael Van Hoven says this will be a great thing to have as the old floors were past their useful life expectancy.

“Having a new floor is going to be amazing,” Van Hoven said. “We’re going to have that first game. It’s going to be something new, and it’s nice for all the people because we get lots of fans. We have lots of people just coming in and having all this. And we’re going to have the volleyball courts and stuff like that. I think we’re going to have a couple of pickleball courts here.”

As part of the project, the school board made sure to recognize the impact of Mr. Paul Wilhite, a former basketball coach at Benton Harbor Area Schools by having his name on the new gym floors. Van Hoven says Wilhite is deserving of the honor.

“One of the most amazing men I’ve ever met. Successful, he’s done it all. He’s done as much as anybody could in coaching in years working with kids…But he’s a very humble man. He’s a very kind man.”

Both floors are set to be complete before the beginning of the 2024-2025 basketball season.

The school district has also announced it’s looking to replace its high school track. Work on that project will begin in the coming months.