WORK NEARLY DONE
Repairs to the facility’s pool are done and other major renovations nearly finished
KINGSTON, N.Y. »
Major renovations are nearing completion at the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County, with an overhaul of its pool already done.
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, renovations have continued at the Midtown Broadway facility.
YMCA Chief Executive Officer Heidi Kirschner said Friday, Jan. 15, that the refurbishment of the pool has been completed as one of several projects.
In September, Kirschner had
said that having to temporarily suspend the YMCA’s normal operations during the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a good thing in some ways.
“The pandemic did offer the YMCA one opportunity — the chance to make key renovations and repairs of the facility,” Kirschner said in a recent statement. “In November 2020, (the YMCA’s) beloved swimming pool reopened after its closure in October of 2019 due to a severe water main break.
“(The pool) is fully renovated with new windows, decking, and more,” she said. The pool itself has a new surface, with better lighting in the area and a more modernized look, she added.
Kirschner said the pool had to be “entirely gutted.” Additionally, Kirschner said, the men’s locker room has been completely renovated, with new lockers, showers and individual changing rooms “to provide privacy to anyone that wants it.”
Similar renovations are taking place in the women’s and boys’ locker rooms. Those overhauls are expected to be completed in
four weeks, Kirchner said. Also, renovation work has been completed in the upper and lower gymnasiums, giving them a “new, fresh look,” according to Kirschner.
In all, the pool project cost $2.1 million, with all other projects adding up to $1.8 million.
Included in those project totals is a new roof covering 75 percent of the YMCA building; new electric panels; a welcome center; new lighting throughout the facility; a new playground; and a new heating and air conditioning system, Kirschner said.
The YMCA first opened in Kingston in 1866.