NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON CONVERTING FORMER YMCA SITE INTO AQUATICS CENTER

Charter school nonprofit, city could partner up

Negotiations are continuing between the city of Escondido and the American Heritage Education Foundation regarding the potential conversion of the former Palomar YMCA campus for use as a high school and collegiate aquatic center.

The discussions began earlier this summer after the foundation, a nonprofit that supports its sister charter schools in Escondido, approached the city about a potential partnership in constructing and operating a public aquatic center on the site at 1050 N. Broadway.

City and foundation officials said Escondido has long sought a community swim facility that could accommodate athletics at the high school and even collegiate levels for such sports as water polo, swim meets and diving competitions.

Dennis Snyder, president of the foundation’s board and founder of Escondido Charter High School, Heritage Elementary School and Heritage Junior High School, said the idea is for organizations such as schools and the city to work together on creating a swim facility to serve the community’s youth.

“I can’t emphasize this enough. We want this to be a community asset,” Snyder said.

The board of directors of the YMCA of San Diego County, which owned and operated the 7-acre Escondido YMCA campus, decided to sell the property earlier this year after suffering financial losses and membership declines due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The foundation entered escrow to purchase the property and hopes to close the sale by the first week of September, if not sooner, Snyder said. He declined to provide the potential purchase price, but said the foundation would issue a private bond to raise the money for the acquisition.

In July, the city and the foundation signed a memorandum of understanding that allows the two entities to explore a potential partnership, which could include the city funding construction to turn the existing pool into a suitable venue for high school and college athletics. Also under discussion are the potential costs of ongoing maintenance and operation of the aquatic center.

The details of any potential partnership remain to be worked out, said Mike Thorne, a city spokesman.

“These costs are unknown and depend on the scope of the project which is still under negotiation. Likewise, who bears those costs is unknown and will be subject to further discussions and negotiations,” Thorne wrote in an email.

One thing that is clear, however, is the city’s need for a new aquatics center, officials said.

“The community and our local high school district have desired a competitionlevel aquatics facility for decades, and we believe there’s support, demand, and community benefit that would come from that,” Thorne wrote.

Escondido Mayor Paul Mcnamara said the city council agrees that such a facility is wanted and needed by the community, and it remains to be seen whether a deal can be worked out with the foundation to use the Palomar YMCA facility, or if the city would pursue an aquatics center on its own.

“No decision has been made. It’s still being analyzed,” Mcnamara said.

The Palomar YMCA campus contains 85,000 square feet of indoor space in several buildings, including a preschool, gymnastics center, basketball gym, fitness center, multipurpose exercise rooms, locker rooms, offices and an outdoor swimming pool.

Snyder and city officials said the pool would need extensive renovations to be used for sports such as water polo, swimming and diving.

“There’s nothing in town that meets that need” for a competition-worthy pool, Snyder said.

Snyder said the foundation wants the YMCA to continue operating its youth gymnastics program at the campus, and potentially other programs, such as youth camps, once the foundation completes its purchase of the property.

If no deal is reached with the city, Snyder said, the foundation would use the current pool as is for local schools and swim teams.

The former YMCA campus also has the room, Snyder said, for classrooms for the charter schools. Currently, the charter schools supported by the foundation serve about 2,300 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and about 1,000 more students are on a waiting list.

Snyder said he is optimistic an agreement can be reached to renovate the pool and turn it into a community aquatic center.

“As of right now, I feel pretty confident that everybody is on the same page and wants it to happen,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for our community to work together to have a first-class aquatic center.”