YMCA announces plans for $21 million facility

YMCA announces plans for $21 million facility

Project one of several simmering in Brooklyn area –

Exercising on the Northbank Riverwalk took on new meaning last month. Officials with YMCA of Florida’s First Coast announced plans for a new glass-fronted, 80,000-square-foot Yates Family YMCA building on the St. Johns riverfront during a private mid-October luncheon.
The building, expected to cost nearly $21 million to construct, eventually will replace the existing Y facility on Riverside Avenue – which will be demolished for a surface parking lot once the new building is complete. The building also will accommodate YMCA of Florida’s First Coast’s corporate headquarters.
Y officials said the original facility would remain open throughout construction of the new building.
The Haskell Co., a nearby business neighbor, will provide construction services for the project while RS&H was listed as the architect of record. England-Thims & Miller Inc. is the project civil engineering firm tapped for the work.
A groundbreaking is slated for the second or third quarter of2013, according to Y officials. A start date is dependent on the success of a Y capital campaign spearheaded by a committee of local residents. The capital campaign group is co-chaired by Russell Newton III and John Anderson and includes Ron Autrey, Dog Baer, John D. Baker, Billy Ball, J.F. and Peggy Bryan, Carl Cannon, G. John Carey, Ceree Harden, Leerie Jenkins, Percy Rosenbloom and James Winston.
“We are excited about the team that has stepped up to help us reach our goal,” said Eric Mann, YMCA president and CEO. “Reaching that goal, to build in Riverside, opens up the door for us to reach so many more goals that will change the lives of the people growing up, living and working in communities all around it.”
The new Yates YMCA facility isn’t the only project to be announced in recent months. The 220 Riverside project also is taking shape in the area. Leaders with the development company envision an exciting future for the area, often described as a “gateway” to downtown Jacksonville.
“We expect our 220 Riverside project and adjacent public plaza to serve as a catalyst for continued development in Brooklyn along the Riverside corridor,” said Alex Coley, president of Hallmark Partners. “The Y project will be an outstanding resource to the entire community and we have already had conversations about synergies between our respective facilities and efforts.”
220 Riverside is a seven-story multifamily residential development with retail space and an urban park. In a recently created comprehensive development plan, Hallmark Partners outlined specifics for the project including an elevated central courtyard and amenity deck. The development will feature 294 units ranging in size from 615 square feet to 1,200 square feet. Other features will include a pool, interactive leasing center, central mail area, clubhouse with fitness center and an Internet café. The development will also include 15,000 square feet of retail space. The development will be adjacent to an urban public park. In a public-private partnership with the city, Hallmark Partners will donate the land for the park. The facilities can accommodate more than 1,500 people.
Dave Auchter, executive vice president of Hallmark, said the company expects to break ground on the project in November. The work has a delivery timetable of about 20 months, he said.
In other news, there has been recent speculation that a small, upscale grocery store was considering Brooklyn as the location of its next Jacksonville store.

 

By Susanna P. Barton
Resident Community News

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