Less than a year and a half has passed since the Brown Family YMCA announced plans for a major upgrade. Now, in the words of Tyler Brown, the project is at “the five-yard line” in terms of funding.
Brown, who heads the capital campaign committee, said the goal was to raise $4.1 million. To date, community donations — some of them quite large — have generated all but $239,000 of that.
On Tuesday, March 4, the facility held an event to provide an update and to encourage the community to help get the project funding over the finish line.
The scope of the project is significant.
Plans include: a cycling studio with new bikes, a new wellness center with state-of-the-art equipment for cardio and strength workouts and EGYM smart fitness equipment, a renovated KidZone, a new recovery space with saunas and hydro/cryo massage chairs, enhanced aquatics programming, a modernized lobby and refreshed welcome center, revamped locker rooms, upgraded AV/sound systems and much more.
“This YMCA has been a really important part of this community for more than 25 years,” said Brown, who has been active there since childhood. “For it to be as good and better for the next 25 years, we need everyone to get involved and help support this campaign so we can have this be the best version of itself.”
The Horschel Family Foundation will have a large presence at the facility, offering mental health programming. The Jim & Tabitha Furyk Foundation is involved with the KidZone.
Phase 1 of the project has already been completed: the addition of pickleball courts.
“We’ve already served over 1,000 people on the pickleball courts,” said Cara Roach, interim executive director.
The Brown Family YMCA, 170 Landrum Lane, Ponte Vedra, is one of 16 locations in the First Coast YMCA. Doors to the Brown Family YMCA first opened in 1999, and today it serves about 9,000 people annually. Teens comprise about 30% of the 175,000 visits it sees each year.
The renovation is in the preconstruction stage and is expected to get underway in the summer.
“We are going to transform this place into a community center,” said First Coast YMCA COO and CFO Penny Zuber. “What we’re doing is creating a place that is safe, comfortable and fun for people of all ages.”
First Coast YMCA CEO Eric Mann called the project “a work of love.”
To learn more about the project or to donate, go to fcymca.org/locations/ponte-vedra-ymca/brown-family-ymca-expansion.
