The Tolleston neighborhood is one step closer to welcoming its new community hub as construction continues on Gary’s new YMCA campus
Gary’s new YMCA is taking shape, with construction moving steadily toward a planned September 2026 opening and several newly confirmed amenities and youth programs now taking form in the Tolleston neighborhood. Construction has reached a major new phase, with exterior walls up, pools being dug, floors being poured, and interior work expected to begin after Christmas. The $35 million project is funded through a mix of city, state, and philanthropic contributions.
The new YMCA facility, a partnership with Crossroads YMCA, Methodist Hospitals, and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana, will feature a state-of-the-art, 91,000-square-foot facility that combines youth development and wellness.
“We are on track,” said Jay Buckmaster, CEO of Crossroads YMCA.
The facility will include classrooms, a wellness center, a teaching kitchen, outdoor recreation areas, and community gathering spaces. Buckmaster said updated plans also add three gyms, including a main court with a track around the perimeter, a full-day child care center for up to 70 infants and preschoolers, a ramped warm-water therapy pool for rehabilitation, and a café the YMCA hopes to lease to a local vendor through a future request for proposal.
“We don’t want to run it, as that is not our wheelhouse,” Buckmaster said jokingly about the café. “The hope with this [request for proposal] for the café is that we get somebody who is from the community who really has the experience to be able to move with the need and demand.”
For Buckmaster, having more than 6,000 Gary residents already enrolled at other Crossroads YMCA locations underscores how significant the new facility will be for families who travel outside the city for youth programs, exercise classes, and child care.
“We know the value is there,” he said. “It’s just that people have to leave their community to get those resources. This project brings those resources home.”
The existing Boys & Girls Club building, the former Tolleston School, is undergoing a full interior renovation and will connect directly to the new YMCA. No major exterior changes are planned, but staff say the inside will look completely new by the time the facility opens.
“Everything will be changed and updated because we haven’t had a facelift since we moved here,” said program director Marcus Steele.
Club director Brianna Griffin said the partnership will eventually allow families to access health care, pools, youth programming, fitness areas, and child care in one location.
“We’re showing you that you can have this in your community,” Griffin said, noting that many residents travel outside the city for amenities that should be available locally. “You don’t have to go to [other places]. It’s right here in Gary. I want them to take pride in that we own something that is high quality.”
The construction process has also inspired a new workforce development program for teens. The club created CONSTRUCT – Constructing Opportunities for New Students To Reveal Underrepresented Construction Talent – which introduces middle and high school students to careers in engineering, architecture, and the trades. Children have toured the site, reviewed plans, and followed the work up close.
“We’ve had kids who have started saying they want to go into that field,” Steele said. “This gives kids who know school isn’t for them a chance to explore another career path.”
As the project moves toward its final stages, club staff and YMCA leaders say the excitement has continued to build among families.
“I think this will be the start of something great for Gary,” Steele said. “We’re heading in such a great direction, and I think this will be like the crown jewel. I think this hub will bring people back to the community, bring jobs, and bring resources for our people.”