Mercy to hold groundbreaking for new gym, pool

While construction of a retaining wall and demolition of the tennis courts where the new facilities will be located began at the beginning of summer, the groundbreaking will be held next week to match up with the beginning of the new school year, Head of School Natalie Brosnan said. 

The project in its current iteration has been in the works since Brosnan took on the position seven years ago, she said, emphasizing that the current administration has been building on the work of decades of Mercy administrations. 

“This particular vision has been a decade, [but] it has literally been decades leaders have been trying to build a gym,” Brosnan said. 

Plans for the project successfully made it through a rigorous Burlingame Planning Commission approval process earlier last year. In May, an appeal made to the Burlingame City Council by neighbors requesting the school not be able to rent its future gymnasium and pool complex to third parties was unsuccessful. 

The school, located in a residential neighborhood at Kohl Mansion on the property purchased by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, faced various concerns that the new gym would create increased traffic, parking issues and noise.

Ultimately, Mercy was able to work with neighbors and stakeholders to alleviate a majority of concerns, and Brosnan has emphasized the importance of Mercy’s female students having equitable access to athletic facilities throughout the process. 

“We’ve been incredibly grateful our neighbors do support us having equitable facilities and modernizing Mercy,” she said. 

The groundbreaking ceremony will be 10 a.m. Aug. 13 at the high school to celebrate a win that Brosnan said is the fruition of a longtime goal for many Mercy students, alumni and faculty. 

“It just happens to be the right time for Mercy. I’m incredibly grateful to be part of that and be head of school as it was built … I certainly cannot take all the credit,” she said. 

The project should be completed by September 2026.