The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka could lease three acres of city land for its new community hub in Barrie.
City council gave final approval Wednesday night to declare surplus three acres of its land at Mapleview and Bayview drives and to negotiate a land lease with the local branch of the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
But in a statement released Thursday, YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka president and chief executive officer Jill Tettmann said it’s not a done deal yet.
“We continue to explore several potential sites,” she said. “The final decision on a site, which has not yet been made, is expected to be made before the end of spring 2023.”
YMCA officials declined an interview Thursday with BarrieToday.
The motion council passed last night, with no discussion, also says city staff will report back to Barrie councillors about the status of the negotiations and/or with an agreement to formalize the land lease arrangement.
“We continue to be committed to finding the ideal site for the new Barrie YMCA,” Tettmann said in her statement. “We are firm in our vision to build a state-of-the-art community hub that will maximize the benefits and positive impact of the YMCA and our partners – Youth Haven and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) – on our community.
“As part of our efforts to realize our vision, we continue to explore several potential sites, including those owned by the City of Barrie," she added.
This site search is the YMCA’s third recent effort for a new location.
In July, the YMCA abandoned its plans for the two-acre H-Block property, located beside the Barrie Public Library's downtown branch, and looked instead for a minimum of three acres, Tettmann said at the time.
The Y’s original plan was to spend $45 million on a 77,000-square-foot community hub at the H-Block, at 50 Worsley St., although realistically the price tag was expected to be close to $60 million.
Instead, the bill was going to be approximately $79 million, which included $12 million for underground parking, plus project management, furnishings, equipment and legal fees, Tettmann said. A three-acre site — which is what’s being investigated at Bayview and Mapleview — also allows parking to be above-ground, cutting costs by $12 million.
Staff said the city cannot release the exact location at Bayview and Mapleview, as it is subject of a confidential staff report and to confidential negotiations.
The new YMCA facility at the H-Block was to include licensed child-care spaces, a youth centre with transitional housing and outreach support, a rehabilitation space for cardiac and cancer post-care patients, and recreation areas for fitness programs.
“Our ultimate goal is to find the best possible home for this vibrant centre of community, so as many individuals and families as possible have the opportunity to feel safe, be included, and reach their full potential,” Tettmann said in her Thursday statement.
Its financing would have come from a variety of sources.
In early summer 2021, the province announced $29.9-million in funding for the local Y. Prior to the pandemic, in the fall of 2019, the Y launched its ‘100 Reasons Y’ fundraising campaign. There was also to be funding from the County of Simcoe.
Proceeds from selling the Y’s former Grove Street property — $4.5 million — were to go toward the new downtown facility. The Y 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 latest plans for 10-24 Grove St. W. show an Official Plan amendment and rezoning approved by council in October 2017. What’s proposed there is the development of three buildings of 21, 25 and 25 storeys, along with an eight-storey, mid-rise building and a five-storey parking podium for a total of 928 residential rental units. Its site plan remains under review.
A new YMCA facility had long been part of HIP Developments’ plans at 34-50 Bradford St. and a portion of 125 Dunlop St. W., for a project that now includes two towers of 30 and 26 storeys, and a five-storey podium, for a total of 630 residential units, at the former Barrie Central Collegiate site. There would be ground-floor commercial space and a parkette in the remains of the former Prince of Wales school.
HIP’s plans changed with the possible location of a supervised consumption site (SCS) right around the corner from the development site, at 11 Innisfil St. An SCS provides a safe space and sterile equipment for individuals to use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health-care staff; consumption means taking opioids and other drugs by injection, smoking, snorting or orally. 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.
