Signed, sealed and soon to be delivered.
Officials from the City of Barrie and the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka signed a land-lease agreement Friday night in front of a crowd of supporters during the YMCA’s annual Spotlight Gala at Liberty North in the city’s south end.
Jill Tettmann, chief executive officer for the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka, made the joint announcement with Mayor Alex Nuttall, as they signed off on the agreement for land near Sadlon Arena on Bayview Drive.
Nuttall told BarrieToday the deal is $2 annually for the next 50 years.
The new facility, which will be located at 535 Bayview Dr., will be built near the Dog Off-Leash Recreation Area behind Sadlon Arena, near the corner of Mapleview Drive East.
It will provide YMCA health and fitness services while also incorporating specialized programming, including a cardiac and cancer rehabilitation program in partnership with Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) and a 12-room housing program in partnership with Youth Haven, Simcoe County’s first standalone transitional housing unit for youth.
In early summer 2021, the province announced $29.9 million in funding for the Y’s new facility in Barrie.
Tettmann says shovels will hit the ground next fall. The projected completion date of the new facility is early summer 2027.
“We’re very excited,” she told BarrieToday at last night's event. “I’ve been the CEO for three years and this has been my major goal, to get us to this place.”
Tettmann said the YMCA is happy they have a site with the support of the city, and also have the money for the project.
Tonight we announced the @YMCASM will be built beside the dog park at Sadlon Arena. This facility will give a permanent home to the YMCA in Barrie and increase Rec and social services to southeast Barrie. pic.twitter.com/dvt1nBefII
— Alex Nuttall (@AlexFromBarrie) November 18, 2023
“This is a beautiful moment for the community,” said Nuttall.
“The YMCA is a place where I always felt accepted,” he added. “It offered me day camps when my family couldn’t afford it, and a place to learn to play basketball, and swim. It was important to me, and important to our council, that we step up and partner and learn to grow as a city together.”
The lease signing follows months of extensive site assessments and numerous potential locations to seek out the best available location, YMCA officials have said.
Last January, city council declared surplus three acres of its 10-acre parcel at Mapleview and Bayview drives and approved negotiations for a land lease with the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
The YMCA's old facility was located on Grove Street, but that land was sold for $4.5 million to make way for a highrise development. The Y had announced in August 2020 that it was not financially viable to reopen the Grove Street facility, given its age and the pandemic’s impact on the Y. The former building, alongside Highway 400 near Bayfield Street, was torn down in June 2021.
The Y also previously had a plan was to build a 77,000-square-foot community hub at the H-Block on Worsley Street, beside the downtown library branch, but that deal fell through because the property was deemed to be too small.
A new YMCA facility had also been part of HIP Developments' plans at the former Barrie Central Collegiate site downtown at Bradford and Dunlop streets.
However, HIP changed its plans due to the possible opening of a supervised consumption site (SCS) on Innisfil Street, around the corner from the development site. So HIP moved its buildings to front onto Bradford Street, where the new Y facility was to be located, so there was no longer room for a new YMCA.
