Ground broken for new YMCA as fundraising delivers more than $29 million for facility
MUNCIE, Ind. − The new YMCA is ready for construction.
A groundbreaking ceremony was conducted Tuesday morning at the site of the new YMCA of Muncie on the Muncie Central High School campus between the school building and the Muncie Fieldhouse along Walnut Street.
"This is what can happen when we collaborate together for the good of others," said Dr. Keith O'Neal, senior pastor at Destiny Christian Center International in Muncie, one of several speakers during the ceremony conducted under a tent on the site where the YMCA is being built.
Mike Lunsford, who served as co-chair of the silent phase of the capital campaign to get the new YMCA built, said the Y's unique ability to touch everyone in the community has contributed to bringing construction of the facility to reality.
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Plans call for a 73,000-square-foot facility that will include traditional YMCA amenities plus a top flight Aquatic Center, to be shared with the high school, and a clinic focused on community health and development of healthy lifestyles.
Chad Zaucha, CEO of the YMCA of Muncie has called the center a "transformational community project."
Participants in partnerships for the new YMCA include Ball State University, IU Health, Muncie Community Schools, Ivy Tech Community College and Open Door Health Services.
Tuesday, Zaucha said, was an important day for "all of you who have believed."
The projected cost of the entire project now stands at about $31 million, Lunsford told The Star Press.
According to a press release issued Tuesday, the the funding campaign has secured $29,6 million with an original $28.5 million goal. First Merchants Bank is still doubling every dollar in a dollar for dollar match up to $1 million. The community phase of the campaign, led by Tara Smalstig and Chris Cook, continues to fundraise with a remaining goal of $1.36 million.
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The has been the community's most successful charitable campaign, not directly involving BSU, in recent memory, said Lunsford.
"It's amazing," he said.
Mayor Dan Ridenour addressed the crowd and said the YMCA project will be a springboard for a revitalization of the McKinley neighborhood. He said the zoning has already been changed to allow the creation of townhomes and new housing along Columbus Avenue that will create a refurbished corridor east of the YMCA and the high school all the way to the Cardinal Greenway near White River and trailhead at the former train depot
Construction of the new YMCA is expected to take about 18 months. When completed, it will combine the downtown YMCA and the Northwest YMCA under one roof.
The downtown YMCA located on Mulberry Street was bought by the city in September 2022 through the Muncie Redevelopment Commission. The MRC paid $500,000 for the building and has been leasing it back to the YMCA for $1. The half-million dollar purchase went toward the YMCA's capital campaign for the new facility.
The purchase was made so the city could control the future of the old YMCA site, said MCR President Jeff Howe. The Mulberry Street building is located near Canan Commons on the south end of downtown.
David Penticuff is a reporter with The Star Press. You can contact him at dpenticuff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ground broken for new YMCA as fundraising hits more than $29 million
