Demolition of the old Trinity Lutheran Church at Gaston and Loving should begin in late August, and the future White Rock YMCA will “hopefully break ground at the end of September,” says Casey Klein, vice-president of operations. The question remains, however, whether the gym, natatorium (indoor pool) and outdoor pool and spray ground will be constructed.
The capital campaign to build the YMCA at White Rock is up to $7.7 million — only $200,000 more than what was announced in April when White Rock Y board chairwoman Alise Cortez Y spoke to the Lakewood Neighborhood Association at Times Ten Cellars. That’s enough money to build the largest chunk of the new building, but the Y needs another $3 million by September to simultaneously build the three components on the south side, Cortez says.
“If we don’t raise it, we have to scale it back and build in phases,” Cortez says. “Nobody wants that. We want our Y.”
Previous published renderings of the future Y showed only the natatorium and not the outdoor pool and spray ground, but new renderings show both (see below; click images for a larger view). The future building design is 37,485 square feet, compared to roughly 42,000 square feet in its former building across Gaston. (The temporary location on Gaston between Tucker and East Grand affords 16,000 square feet.)
The design by neighborhood architect Craig Reynolds “builds in triangles around the trees,” Klein says. The walls on the west side will be mostly windows with the upstairs rooms “looking right into the trees,” Klein says, pointing out that the Elm on the property is the oldest living Elm in the county.
The Y also hopes to build some underground parking on the east side of the site, so that cars entering off Gaston could go up or down into a lot. The Y would have 115 spots as-is, which is “good 90 percent of the time, but the site is a little tight,” Klein says. Underground parking would add 35-40 spots, and Klein says costs currently are being examined. The lot also will have bike racks with space for 20 bikes.
Cortez emphasizes that the Y doesn’t need the $3 million in hand by September, but does need pledges for that amount that can be paid over five years. The fundraising deadline already has been pushed back a month, Klein says, “and we won’t do it again.” The Y’s lease at its temporary space is up in September 2014, and construction needs to begin on the future building so that it will be complete in time for the Y to move out.
If the Y doesn’t raise $3 million by September, Klein isn’t sure when construction on phase 2 — the gym, natatorium, and outdoor pool and spray ground — would begin. It would depend on when the money is raised. However, he says, “we are still hoping to get the $3 million raised in the next couple of months so we can build the entire project.”
