Nearly
$6 million in public money would be used to build a new downtown YMCA under an
ordinance scheduled to be introduced tomorrow at the Springfield City Council.
The
money would come from two tax increment financing funds, one set up to benefit
downtown, the other for Enos Park. Val Yazell, city economic development director,
said the city hasn’t decided how much of the $5.9 million would come from each
fund. “That’s what we don’t know at this particular point,” Yazell said. “There’s
still a lot of conversation that has to happen before, really, much can be talked
about.”
Yazell
said the proposal will go before the city economic development commission,
which typically weighs in on TIF projects before council votes, on July 10.
According
to the ordinance set to be introduced tomorrow, the proposed building at the
intersection of Fourth and Carpenter streets would cost nearly $36 million,
including demolition costs. The state Department of Natural Resources has said
the existing building at the intersection of Cook and Fourth streets should not
be torn down because it has architectural merit and could be repurposed. The
state also says that the existing building has historic significance, in part
because Barack Obama played basketball there while a state senator.
Memorial
Medical Center has committed to paying $9 million for the project. Assuming
that TIF funding is approved, that would leave a gap of approximately $22
million. Yazell said she believes the YMCA would have to cover much of that
with fundraising.
Angie
Sowle, YMCA chief executive officer, could not be reached for comment.
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2018.
