Columbus YMCA to officially expand to midtown. What to know
The YMCA’s stalled effort to obtain property for construction of a midtown branch has been revived and completed.
A donation of 7.5 acres at 1829 Midtown Drive, across Boxwood Boulevard from the Columbus Public Library, means the project originally attempted three years ago — and promised a decade ago — can come to fruition.
“We are truly grateful as an organization for Midtown Associates to be gracious enough to donate this land to us,” YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus president and CEO Christopher Bryant told the Ledger-Enquirer. “… They understood what we’re trying to do is serve.
“It’s not just to put another building on a location and people come in and out. It’s truly about services, truly about getting people to come in and experience what we have as an organization … to see our three focus areas: for health living, for youth development and for social responsibility.”
The property most recently was occupied by merchandise liquidator Let’s Make A Deal. It previously was home to a church and a car dealership.
Two buildings remain on the property. The YMCA is determining whether they will be demolished or incorporated into the project.
No start date for construction or completion are scheduled.
“It is still too early to define,” Bryant said. “We will work with an architect to develop concepts for the project. The first step would assess the current need for the midtown community and see how we can best serve.”
Bryant expects the branch to open in two or three years. He estimated the cost of the project will be from $10 million to $15 million for a 65,000-square-foot facility, similar in size to the Columbus YMCA’s two other full-service branches.
The new facility will focus on family engagement, Bryant said.
“Families make up at least 80% of our population from memberships and program participation,” he said. “With the midtown area going as it has, we see a great opportunity to offer our programs and services to everyone who lives in the midtown district and travel the Macon Road and I-185 corridor each day.”
Filling the gap
A midtown branch will help fill a gap in the YMCA’s coverage of the city. Its current locations are:
- John P. Thayer branch in downtown Columbus
- D.A. Turner branch in north Columbus
- A.J. McClung branch in south Columbus, which isn’t large enough to offer the full range of YMCA services, so it focuses on after-school care and youth sports programming.
A midtown branch also will mesh well with the corridor’s prominent buildings, such as the library, the Muscogee County Public Education Center, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts, the City Services Center and the Columbus Aquatic Center.
“This location for us could be a game changer,” Bryant said. “… We have many people in the community that never experienced the YMCA.”
Wish list
Byrant emphasized the specifics of the services a midtown branch will offer won’t be determined until input is received from the public, but he mentioned the following as his wish list:
- Two multipurpose fields for sports such as soccer, T-ball and coach-pitch baseball.
- Two gyms
- Indoor track
- Fitness studio
- Cycling studio
- Community meeting spaces
- Room for STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, arts and math).
- Child development center comprising preschool for 3-year-olds and prekindergarten for 4-year-olds.
Because a midtown branch will be only a half mile away from the aquatic center, Bryant said, it won’t have a pool. Instead, he said, the YMCA will seek an agreement with the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department for its members to use the aquatic center.
Whatever components end up in the facility, Bryant already is confident about the impact a midtown branch will make.
“It’s going to really enhance the relationships and the partnerships that we have with the city of Columbus and also other nonprofit organizations as well,” he said. “It’s not just a YMCA building. It’s a community building. It’s just like part of our mission: It’s for all.
“We want to make sure when we say all, whether you come from the south side of Columbus or you come from the north, east or west part of Columbus, we’re going to serve you just like you would be served at any of our branches.”
The YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus, has approximately 10,500 members and served more than 15,000 people through its programs during the past year, Bryant said. It has been chartered since 1856 and is third-oldest YMCA in the United States.
Even after the renovation and expansion of the Turner branch is finished in July, Bryant said, the Columbus YMCA will need a midtown branch to accommodate increased usage of its facilities, Bryant said.
Previous attempt
The Muscogee County School District had agreed to sell the 5.31-acre former Rigdon Road Elementary School property, which includes the closed Ardahlia Mack Community Center, to the YMCA for $460,000 in 2019. But that deal wasn’t completed as the YMCA tried to raise money for the original estimate of $10-$12 million it would need to build a midtown branch.
The economic recession from the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the fundraising effort, Bryant said.
MCSD sold the Rigdon property in July for $450,00 to adult day care provider B&O Services. B&O owner and CEO Joann Brown, former principal of Baker Middle School, told the L-E then that she plans to use the property to move from rented space at 1828 Floyd Road and expand the business to also serve children with developmental disabilities.
Now, the Columbus YMCA’s long-term vision for a midtown branch has a second chance for culmination.
“We made a promise roughly 10 or l1 years ago to build a YMCA in this location,” Bryant said. “Now, we have an opportunity to make good on that promise, and we plan to do so.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 4:13 PM.
