WARRENSVILLE BRANCH
A cadre of public officials turned out May 2 to help break ground on a new Warrensville Heights Family YMCA, one of the first buildings to be constructed at Warrensville Heights Town Center on Northfield Road. The branch is expected to open in spring of 2012.
U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, who previously served as mayor of Warrensville Heights, was on hand along with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald.
The $8 million, 40,000 square foot branch is a joint partnership between the Y of Greater Cleveland and the city of Warrensville Heights. It will be one of several flagship buildings to be constructed at the city's Town Center complex. The 16-acre site will also be the home of a new 25,000 square foot Warrensville Heights Public Library, as well as future city developments.
Both the Y branch and the Cuyahoga County Library are being constructed using sustainable design concepts.
A majority of the funding for development of Town Center will come from Issue 13, a municipal income tax increase passed by 66% of voters in May of 2009. The city also plans to tap federal and state sources of revenue for the development. Additional costs for the YMCA will be offset by fundraising.
Construction follows a series of public meetings where residents gave their input on what services and features they wanted incorporated into the branch. The two-story YMCA recreational center will house a competition/ recreational hybrid pool, locker rooms, gymnasium, wellness/fitness area, multipurpose rooms, teen and child areas, and outside play areas. Town Center will be the gateway to Warrensville Heights from the north with the YMCA's illuminated glass facade being the beacon to the City's renaissance.
The YMCA branch and the library are part of Phase I of the mixed-use Town Center project. Phase II encompasses retail and municipal development.
Officials say that construction of a YMCA in the city is in keeping with the city's 2002 Master Plan, which called for creating educational and recreational opportunities for youth.
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