A new YMCA is planned for Council Bluffs, thanks to a joint $7 million grant from the Iowa West Foundation and the Charles E. Lakin Foundation.
The gift, $3.5 million from each party, will be the catalyst for a $16 million facility to be located west of Alegent Creighton Health Mercy Hospital on Kanesville Boulevard. The location is slated to open in early fall of 2015.
The Lakin donation is the latest of many from the Emerson native and Omaha resident, with the $12 million the foundation gave to create the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus the largest. Iowa West provided $8 million for the human services campus that stretches along North 16th Street between Avenue G and Avenue J.
I have been to the current YMCA in CB many times, and I can honestly say that this has been needed for a very long time. Â I am glad to see it moving forward. Â The Lakin campus on N. 16th St. looks much better than the hotel/restaurant that used to sit there. Â I have no doubt this will enhance the Mercy Hospital area as well.
The new YMCA, planned near Alegent Creighton Health Mercy Hospital, will cost $16 million, The YMCA plans to use $4 million of its own funds and contributions totaling $12 million from various private and public entities – of which $9 million had been raised as of mid-April
The new center, which will be located on Kanesville Boulevard, will span roughly 70,000 square feet and two levels. It will boast sports courts, exercise rooms, a teen center, a therapy pool, a family pool, a walking track, an early childhood education center, a family center, a playground and a teaching kitchen to host cooking classes.
“It’s really going to be a groundbreaking Y for us,” said Len Romano, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Omaha. “Of the 11 locations that we have in the metro area, it will be our biggest and most innovative design.”
He said construction is slated for late spring. He expects the facility to open next year in conjunction with the YMCA’s 150th anniversary in Omaha.
Work on the new YMCA facility at Frank Street and East Kanesville Boulevard is likely to start next month, said Len Romano, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Omaha. The project is awaiting approval of permits before beginning construction. St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 223 Harmony St., will begin holding weekend Masses at St. Albert High School Auditorium on Aug. 15-16, the church has announced. Daily Masses will continue to be held at the church.
The two-story, 73,000-square-foot Charles E. Lakin YMCA will feature sports courts, therapy and lap pools, exercise rooms, an indoor track, a teen center, classrooms, an outdoor water spray garden, a teaching kitchen and a playground. The facility will offer access to medically based wellness programs that will address health disparities, including diabetes, cancer, arthritis and obesity.
Crews this week began moving dirt into place for the construction of the $16.2 million facility along East Kanesville Boulevard at Frank Street. The plan is to have the dirt compacted during the winter in preparation for a spring construction, McIntosh said.
Brad wrote:Shoot, I flew right over this and didn't think about snapping an aerial...
Thanks for all the photo updates!
In your 100 Block photos, you can see the edge of the new Y property in the upper right-hand corner of a few of the pics.
I shot the 100 block and I also shot the hospital right on the other side of it... I better go back and look at the pics again and see if I got it and forgot. Normally when its not freezing cold out, I am hanging out of the chopper shooting the whole time. Friday was a bit too chilly for that.
Should finally see some visual progress on the project soon. According to the Nonpareil, the foundation is currently being poured. In about 3-4 weeks steel should be rising. Construction is slated to be done by late fall 2017.
Construction of the new Charles E. Lakin YMCA is on track to finish this fall — as planned — officials said this week.
The mild winter has aided progress on the $16.2 million project, said Leo McIntosh, vice president of the YMCA of Greater Omaha and executive director of the Council Bluffs location.
Here is the latest rendering I could find: (you would think they could make the building look a little more appealing with more glass, I know the original design had more glass and natural light)
It was a night of celebration at the new Charles E. Lakin YMCA in Council Bluffs Thursday. The project's donors toured the $17 million facility ahead of its grand opening set for Monday, Dec. 11.
The fitness and community center is 78,000 square feet, making it one of the largest YMCAs in the Midwest.
"It's really unique in that we have integrated physical therapy, (an) integrated warm water therapy pool," said Chris Tointon, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Omaha. "We have a family room, a family center with video games."
When completed, The Hub will feature Fly Zone trampoline park, while Nichole McIntosh will operate Elite Cheer and Tumbling Council Bluffs, which will be housed in the current pool area at the YMCA.
Hubbard said a soft opening of The Hub is expected in early April, with a grand opening anticipated at the end of that month.