EVERETT – Before the decade is out, downtown Everett may see a new YMCA, or a dramatically remodeled version of the old one.
Everett and Snohomish County YMCA officials are mulling the results of a recent architectural and engineering study of the Everett Family YMCA’s three-building campus at 2720 Rockefeller Ave.
“We just find ourselves in a moment in time. This facility has provided a lot of service to families for a long time, but is it time for a new downtown Everett facility?” said Ted Wenta, executive director of the Everett Family YMCA.
Such talk is not new but has been circling the track since the late 1980s, said Jerry Beavers, president of the YMCA of Snohomish County.
Because the Everett Family YMCA’s three buildings went up in three different decades – in the 1920s, 1960s and 1980s – they are in much different states of repair, but all are aging.
Building a new YMCA would be more expensive than renovating the old campus, but would have superior results, according to the study by the Seattle architectural firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership.
A new building would be a “standard” YMCA – up-to-date but smaller overall than the Y’s current campus.
A new building might also eliminate several of the old Y’s distinctive characteristics, including its second swimming pool and rooftop track.
The study gives four options for the Y’s future:
* Remove the top two floors of the 1920 building and remodel all three buildings.
* Demolish the 1920 building and replace it with a new four-story building, and remodel the other two buildings.
* Demolish the 1920 building without replacing it and upgrade the two remaining buildings.
* Build an entirely new Everett YMCA.
Each option would require extensive fund-raising, with costs estimated at $12 million to more than $20 million. But unlike money, time is something the YMCA has plenty of, Beavers said.
The county board of trustees and the directors of the Everett branch “all agree that this YMCA wants to continue being a part of Everett, and downtown Everett,” Beavers said. “We have been for 100 years, and we see ourselves being here for the next 100 years.”
The organization is now charged with balancing plans for the Everett branch with projects elsewhere in the county, including a possible new branch in Monroe, a new skate park in Mukilteo and upgrades to its Southeast/Silver Firs branch.
Beavers said YMCA trustees are looking at land in Everett, as well as possible building partners. The Everett Senior Center and Everett Community College are looking at expansion, and might be potential partners, he said.
City spokeswoman Kate Reardon said the city is having ongoing discussions on a possible partnership.
“Right now, the city is definitely at the table,” she said.
Everett Community College is also interested in a new community recreation center. The college had to close its pool in fall 2002 because the roof was unstable. The roof is now stabilized with beams, but the swimming pool remains closed.
The college is interested in sharing the cost of building and maintaining a pool for health education and community use, said Michael Kerns, college vice president for administration.
“It’s something that definitely needs to happen for the city,” he said. “The way to do it is through partnerships.”
Meanwhile, the old Y has got a few years left.
“It may not be new, but it does a wonderful job of serving the community,” Wenta said.
More than 13,000 people visited the Everett YMCA last year, he said.
Serving the community well has “happened for so long, we’re committed to continuing to make it happen,” Beavers said. “The issue is how long this building and its infrastructure will remain viable.”
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