Second YMCA planned to serve Katy
Capital campaign needs to reach goal of $2.4 million by the end of the year
With use increasing at the YMCA in Katy, the organization’s leaders are planning to build a second Y facility in the community, though construction costs will likely take away about half of the group’s available reserves.
The planned two-story, 40,000-square-foot facility is slated to open on Pin Oak Road in the Katy Mills Mall area in May, according to Brian Haines, vice president of operations for the YMCA of Greater Houston.
The new YMCA will create 200 jobs for the area, according to Lance LaCour, president/ CEO of the Katy Area Economic Development Council, which helped project leaders select the building site.
“Over the past five years . . . after a quite a bit of research and study, it was identified that a second YMCA in west Katy would help meet the needs of the growing community while also provide relief for our existing Katy facility that has grown to an all-time record number of membership and program participants,” Haines said.
The one-story Katy Family YMCA, which opened 14 years ago at 22807 Westheimer Parkway, has more than 25,000
members, a large number for its 54,000-square-foot facility, Haines said, and sees about 50,000 people a year through its various programs.
The 35,000-square-foot original facility underwent a $1.2 expansion in 2005 and a $5.1 million expansion in 2009, with each project adding rooms, parking space and equipment.
The new YMCA will cost an estimated $12 million, with approximately $9.6 million coming from the YMCA of Greater Houston’s $17 million in available reserve funds, which Haines said his group is not nervous about having to spend.
“We feel that the investment will be more than made up and would never make a decision like this without being sure about it,” Haines said. “We have plenty of wiggle room to make a decision like this.”
Money raised locally
In order to begin construction at the beginning of 2016, the Y’s board, which approved the project earlier this summer, is requiring that the remaining $2.4 million cost to build the facility be obtained through fundraising by the end of this year, something that Leonard Merrell, capital campaign chairman for the YMCA of Greater Houston, is confident can be accomplished.
“We’ve raised $1.1 million so far and continue to actively approach this project with foundations and other entities,” said Merrell, who is one of 55 members of the YMCA’s board of directors.
“Fundraising for this intensified over the last four to five months. We’re confident in our community to raise the $2.4 million based on conversations. None of this is slam dunk, but I’m optimistic.”
Much like the Westheimer Parkway location, the second Y will include amenities such as a weight room, basketball gym, cycle room, pool and areas for child care, though its layout and design will be different.
Membership prices will be equal to the existing YMCA, Haines said, which can range from an individual adult price of $60 a month to a family package of $95 a month. Once the second location opens, members will have access to both Katy Family YMCAs.
EDC saw prime site
The EDC saw the Katy Mills Mall area as a prime location for the planned facility, with other projects in the area to include a boardwalk, shopping center, hotel and convention center and 25-acre water park.
“The proximity to (the mall) and Katy Main Street and the amenities near it make it attractive for these type of projects,” LaCour said. “Jobs are important, but this project is more important from the standpoint of improving the quality of life of the Katy area.”
With so much growth in one area, traffic problems could be a worry, but Haines insisted that studies indicate that should not be an issue. He said the YMCA is not comparable to other fitness centers because of the various sports and community programs it offers.
Arranging this project has not been easy, he said.
“There are so many moving parts,” Haines said. “From volunteer engagement, to the design of the building, to fundraising strategies, to programing the building . . . It creates a lot of challenges, but the good news is this isn’t the first YMCA ever built, which has given us the opportunity to learn from other ventures.”
Kirksey Architecture, Houston, will design the new facility while Tellepsen Industrial, Houston, will build it. Both have been involved in the construction of YMCAs in the greater Houston area, which has 38 YMCA locations.