YMCA of Springfield members have received emails asking whether they would like to see a second branch open downtown inside the future Springfield-Sangamon County Transportation Center.
But the idea, being floated just a little over a year after a new $33 million downtown Y opened at Fourth and Carpenter streets, is preliminary, and there is no guarantee it will move forward, a YMCA official said.
The emails are part of a survey of YMCA members and area residents that was done at the request of Sangamon County government, YMCA Chief Executive Officer Angie Sowle said.
“We don’t have any results yet,” she told Illinois Times. “It’s still in its infancy.”
County government is considering potential amenities for the $84.3 million transportation hub, County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter said.
Construction has begun on a new $13.26 million transfer facility for the Sangamon Mass Transit District in the first phase of the hub’s development. Future phases, all part of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, will include an Amtrak operational center and a new parking garage.
An informal, public open house on the hub and overall rail improvements project will go on from 4 to 7 p.m. March 31 at the Bank of Springfield Center.
Project team members will be on hand to provide updates on the rail improvements’ archaeological site, land acquisition and minority participation. An open microphone session during the mask-optional event will be available from 6 to 7 p.m.
A preliminary design for the transportation hub will be presented. It will be bounded by Washington Street on the north, 11th Street on the east, Adams Street on the south and Ninth Street on the west.
Funding for the hub, just north of the Sangamon County building, will come from local, state and federal funds. The total will include $34.5 million from county government, $26 million of which the county plans to borrow through the issuance of bonds, Van Meter said.
The latest total cost of the hub doesn’t include what the survey describes as “a new state-of-the-art branch” of the YMCA.
The survey – to gauge interest in what could be an indoor “activity center” with a “gym-type feel” – is being conducted by Florida-based Phil Balducci & Associates, Sowle said. The firm conducts community surveys for YMCAs across the country.
Despite the wording of the survey, it’s unknown whether the YMCA of Springfield would be involved in such a center or how much it would cost, but the YMCA, a nonprofit organization, wouldn’t pay for it, she said.
Survey results aren’t expected for at least a few weeks. Once in hand, the YMCA will forward the information to county officials, Sowle said.
Regardless of the recent opening of the new downtown YMCA in November 2020 and the services already offered by the Kerasotes branch at 4550 W. Iles Ave., it’s worth considering more recreational options downtown, Van Meter said.
“I want to find out what the community is interested in,” he said. The source of funding for a new activity center hasn’t been discussed, according to Van Meter.
The survey asks whether a new YMCA branch at the transportation hub would be a convenient location.
The branch, according to the survey, would offer “many of the same programs and facilities as the two existing branches, plus some new classes. However, it may not include an indoor pool.”
“If this new Y opens,” the survey asks, “what are you most likely to do? … Suppose that the YMCA of Springfield began to offer a program of interest to you at this new location that is not available at your current branch. How likely are you to consider coming to this new branch for this program?”
Dean Olsen is a senior staff writer for Illinois Times. He can be reached at dolsen@illinoistimes.com or 217-679-7810.
This article appears in Fifty years of Doc Helm’s photos.
