DALTON — Leaders of a retreat center in the Abingtons hope a newly refurbished gym will be not just a place to practice and play sports, but a community asset.
Officials at Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center unveiled the gym in the community center to the public last week. It includes a 6,000-square-foot gym with six basketball hoops, a volleyball net, two racquetball courts and a weight room. The gym has lines that make it usable for basketball, pickleball and volleyball. It is open to people of all ages.
Crews tore out the old, concrete gym floor in May and finished the upgrades last month. Other work included putting in new hardwood flooring on the gym and in the two racquetball rooms, new rubber flooring in the weight room, new equipment for the weight room, painting, minor repairs, and new nets and hoops.
The work marks the first upgrades to the 10,000-square-foot community center since the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, which oversees both the retreat center and the community center, purchased the property in 2017 from the Diocese of Scranton. It was funded by a state $250,000 Local Share Account grant, which center officials received in 2024.
The property was formerly St. Pius X Seminary, which closed in 2004, and Fatima Renewal Center. The diocese operated it from 1969 until its sale in 2017.
The Rev. Jaime Perez Restrepo, coordinator of Hispanic ministry for the Diocese of Scranton, attended last week’s unveiling.
Gary Davis, the program coordinator for the retreat center and community center, said he’s excited to see interest in the center, noting Abington Heights assistant basketball coach Andrew Kettle has a basketball camp underway currently, and Keystone College and the Lackawanna Trail School District and other groups interested in pickleball have reached out about using the community center. The site is also open for events like birthday parties.
The refurbished racquetball court inside the community center at the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center pictured Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Joseph Abraham, a member of the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center board, speaks during the opening of the refurbished gym in the community center Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Listening to him are, from left, Gary Davis, the center’s program coordinator; H.G. Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, archbishop of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malakarian Orthodox Syrian Church and president of the center; state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore; state Rep. Jim Haddock, D-118, Pittston Twp. and Father Shibu Venad, director of the retreat center. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Gary Davis, program coordinator at Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center, speaks during a public unveiling of the refurbished gym in the community room on the property Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.
(Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
State Rep. Jim Haddock, D-118, Pittston Twp., left, and state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore present H.G. Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, archbishop of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malakarian Orthodox Syrian Church and president of the center, a proclamation Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
H.G. Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, archbishop of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malakarian Orthodox Syrian Church and president of the center, speaks during the opening of the refurbished community center gym Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
The community center at Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center pictured Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Joseph Abraham, a member of the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center board, shows the refurbished weight room in the community center Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Father Shibu Venad, director of the retreat center, speaks during the opening of the refurbished gym in the community center Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
The logo of the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center is seen Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
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The refurbished racquetball court inside the community center at the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center pictured Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Abington Heights High School boys basketball coach J.C. Show, who also runs basketball lessons and camps, used the space prior to the upgrades. He said the project was a big deal for players, allowing them to improve their skills.
“Having a chance to have a high-quality floor is a really attractive piece for somebody looking to do a basketball event,” Show said. “The number of baskets and the quality of the baskets is another factor. So as I’m looking around here, you have six baskets, glass backboards, brand-new rims, brand-new netting. It increases the options that are afforded you when you’re trying to run a camp, a practice, a clinic, things of that nature.”
Center leaders and elected officials touted the newly refurbished space as a place for the community.
“Even though the church bought the property from the Diocese of Scranton, it is not exclusively for the use of the church, and it is our hope and wish and prayer that the community around us will be able to make good use of this, and that we all believe that is part of our witness,” said H.G. Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, archbishop of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malakarian Orthodox Syrian Church, and president of the center.
Center leaders said they were open to suggestions from the community about how to best use the property.
Bookings can be made by calling 570-309-4122 or by visiting htrccommunitycenter.org.
The floor and equipment upgrades are the first of what center officials hope will be the start of a multiphase project to improve the building. They also plan to replace the roof, which dates to its construction in the 1960s, and put in new bathroom facilities. Davis said when that work will start is contingent on funding and resource availability.
“Gym space is such a needed resource, especially something that’s modern and updated,” Davis said. “We expect to keep it that way as well as use for all ages of the community.”