43
Downtown YMCA unveils $5M renovation
Central YMCA celebrates renovations
Video
A ribbon cutting was held to celebrate a $5 million renovation to the 100-year-old building.
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
The challenge of ren- ovating the downtown YMCA building was immense, but necessary.
Since 1915, the Central YMCA on Champion Street has been a part of the downtown city life.
Now, with $5 million in improvements, it will be a part of the downtown’s renaissance.
“We are a part of the fabric of this community,” said Tom Gacse, YMCA president and chief executive officer.
The community celebrated the renovation with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
“We are committed to downtown,” Gacse said.
Gacse took on the CEO title at the start of this year. Before that, he was a YMCA board member for 18 years and chairman from 2015-2016. He recalled back in 2012 when board members got together to decide what to do with the downtown building. Instead of relocating, as many YMCA locations have, the board decided to stick with the city and renovate.
“That was critical,” said Mike Shaffer, executive director of the downtown YMCA on the need to stay. “If we had bailed on the city of Youngstown, then who we are as a charitable organization was going to be called into question.”
The renovation was announced in February 2016 as the first major renovation project at the location in about 50 years.
Strollo Architects Inc. of Youngstown was the firm selected for the job, but to the architects on board it wasn’t just a job.
“I started coming here when I was 5 years old,” said Gregg Strollo, president of Strollo Architects. “This was the most rewarding job that I have personally have ever been involved in.”
Patrick Lankey, project architect for Strollo, is also a YMCA member.
“We treated this as our family,” he said. “The main [goal] was to benefit the members and make it a better place.”
The way to make it a better place was to bring in more light and make it more organized so to be more inviting.
“The joke was you used to spread bread crumbs to get from one point to another,” Lankey said.
Now, the organization of the place is noticeable instead of disorganization. The workout areas, including a new weight room, cardio room and group fitness room, are all located on the second floor. Before, the weight room was in the basement, and the first floor housed the cardio equipment. A restaurant space was relocated from the second floor to the first to make room for a new group fitness center.
In the new YMCA, the rooms are filled with natural light. Tall windows in the cardio room give members a grand view of the downtown Youngstown life. The first floor is more of a social gathering area now with the Manchester meeting room, a restaurant and the KidZone activity room.
“This place was a dark and confusing labyrinth for 50 to 60 years,” Strollo said. “Through the efforts of a lot of extensive planning we figured out a way to open it and get some light in the place.”
Construction came with new problems every day. Glass floors and hidden staircases were just some of the surprises. But the contractors and the architect worked around the issues to complete the project by November. Alex Downie and Sons of Youngstown was the general contractor on the project, and other contractors included York Mahoning of Youngstown, Prout Boiler Heating of Youngstown and Dickey Electric of North Lima.
“Almost every day we were designing and moving something different,” Lankey said.
Funding for the project came through a capital campaign that brought in donations, and a tax credit the Western Reserve Port Authority helped the YMCA receive brought in $1.1 million in federal funds and $600,000 from the state. The city provided a $500,000 grant.
“It’s going to be a wonderful change,” Shaffer said of the renovation. “This is going to make us healthier and stronger.”