Progress for the future location of the Harrisburg branch of Cannon Memorial YMCA is moving forward, said Brent Rockett, managing director of the branch.
This month, the branch signed another five-year lease to stay at its current location, on the second floor of the Town Hall in Harrisburg, but Rockett said the hope is that, when the lease ends in December 2016, its new facility will be ready.
Rockett said opening a new location has been the plan since the Harrisburg YMCA opened at its current location at Town Hall in 2006. Since then, the YMCA has investigated other opportunities and locations before learning of the more than 20-acre property it purchased about a year ago, Rockett said.
That property has a small amount of access to Highway 49 and is located behind the Ruckus House Learning Center in Harrisburg.
“We felt like the location would be of great value to Harrisburg but also in a convenient location for our current members and for potential growth,” Rockett said.
Rhonda Poppen, resource development director for Cannon Memorial YMCA, said the organization knows that, in its current limited space, the Harrisburg branch is already a meeting place for people.
“The opportunities could be so much greater (as) a full-service facility,” Poppen said. “We understand the best way to serve that community is to have a facility similar to (the) West Cabarrus (branch).”
The future Harrisburg branch is projected to be between 65,000 and 70,000 square feet. The Harrisburg branch’s current space is 13,700 square feet.
In addition to more space, the new facility would allow the branch to expand its current programs and add more, Rockett said.
The current facility includes a fitness center, multi-purpose room, locker rooms, group exercise studios and off-site program areas, according to its website. Its current programs include group exercise classes, personal training, swimming lessons, youth sports and summer day camp.
The plan for the new facility is to develop the property in two phases, Rockett said.
The first phase, which would cost an estimated $770,000, will include sports playing fields, walking trails and other amenities, Rockett said.
The second phase, which has an estimated cost of between $8 million and $10 million, is the building itself, he said.
Rockett added that there may be portions of the building, such as a swimming pool, that are built early to complement the Harrisburg YMCA’s current space.
In October, the Harrisburg Town Council unanimously approved the rezoning plans for the property the YMCA purchased, and securing funding for the start of the first phase is the next step, Rockett said.
The YMCA is looking at options for funding, he said, and the goal is to begin construction in 2012.
“We’ll be looking for a lot of community support to raise those funds from the community that supports us so much already,” Rockett said.
Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152
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