A major recreational project that took a significant fundraising hit when the economy went south – and has had to fight Mother Nature during its final phase of construction – now has its eye on the prize.

The new Grand Traverse Bay YMCA on West Silver Lake Road is sixty days away from the targeted public opening date of August 1, pushed back from an original springtime grand opening.

It’s a project that has defined CEO Tom Van Deinse’s entire tenure; not quite three weeks after Van Deinse came on board in December 1999, leadership held a strategic planning session, he recalls.

“At that time we made an official proclamation to build a new YMCA that would meet the community’s needs … one of the most important being learning to swim,” says Van Deinse.

More than 14 years and nearly $12 million later, the community is getting that new Y. The 101,000 square-foot facility is described as the “essential phase” of the multi-phased building project by Y officials – essential because of the aquatics center at its heart. It follows construction of the athletic fields at the new location two years ago.

The Ticker toured the Y with Van Deinse last week – getting a sneak peek of the long-anticipated project. Still very much a construction zone, it will be another month before equipment and furnishings start to move in, followed by staff training, says Van Deinse.

The Aquatics Center features:
– a recreation/therapy/learn-to-swim pool with warmer water and a special area designed for getting children comfortable with getting their face wet
– a 22-person hot tub
– an eight-lane competition pool, with a deep end diving well; in addition to swim events, it will also be used for regular lap swimming and swim instruction

Van Deinse notes the competition pool will not open until sometime in September. The long winter and cool, wet spring prevented the application of a vapor barrier to the pool’s ceiling, setting the completion date back.

The improved aquatics facilities at the new Y come at a time when the region has experienced a rise in drowning tragedies in recent years. Y officials have set a goal of teaching 2,000 third grade students in the five-county service area to swim starting this fall.

Additional features of the first phase include: six tennis courts, with the ability to segregate instruction from play; a fitness center with areas for cardio, circuit training, spinning, aerobics, pneumatic exercise (low-impact) and handicap-accessible equipment; family locker rooms; bathrooms with separate dry/wet sides and saunas; a kitchen for teaching healthy eating classes (through a grant from the Allen Foundation) and “child watch” and teen areas.

Van Deinse says there's still about $200,000 left to raise before the fundraising is complete on this first phase. Then fundraising will begin on the next: a gymnasium center that is estimated to come in under $4 million and will include an indoor running track and courts. A fieldhouse has also been approved as part of the new Y’s master plan.