Gary officials have unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art, 91,000-square-foot YMCA in the Tolleston neighborhood that they hope will serve as a community hub. The $30 million project, one of the largest recent investments in the city, will provide fitness programs, health care services, and educational resources for the youth.
On Friday morning, residents filled the Tolleston Park Pavilion for a first look at a project that has already been cleared for takeoff.
“This is going to be the anchor for this neighborhood,” Mayor Eddie Melton said. “[It’s] going to be a draw for more folks that want to live in Gary as we do everything that we can as an administration to further stabilize this neighborhood and other neighborhoods.”
The facility is funded through a mix of city, state, and philanthropic contributions. In 2022, the Gary Common Council appropriated $10 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to support the project, with an additional $10 million in contributions from both the state of Indiana and the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation.
After imploring those in attendance to give themselves a round of applause for showing up, long-standing Councilwoman Mary Brown detailed her enthusiasm about the project.
“I am excited about this. I’ve been excited about it for months,” Brown said. “I’ve had an opportunity to see [YMCAs] in other cities, and I know the kinds of things that they bring to the community.”
In the years since the council passed the plan, leadership of the YMCA and city officials held several engagement sessions where they surveyed community members to better understand the needs of the community.
“We had sessions at Methodist Hospital, we went to high schools around the area and really started to form this vision that this is going to be more than just a facility,” said Jay Buckmaster, CEO of Crossroads YMCA.
“This is a long-term investment in the city of Gary, where people will strengthen this community.”
The new facility will be built at the site of the current Boys & Girls Club, formerly Tolleston Middle School, at 2700 W. 19th Ave. Designed as a hybrid space, the YMCA will house the Boys & Girls Club while also partnering with Methodist Hospitals to provide on-site health care services.
Buckmaster said there will be an opportunity to raise an additional $10 million through various naming rights for the facility.
Residents in attendance voiced overwhelming support for the project.
“I’m 1,000 percent behind this project. … There’s nothing going to stop this,” said Bruce Curry, a New Jersey native who relocated to Gary.
“We’re ready to make Gary greater,” he continued. “I want everybody to be behind this project; we gotta make things happen here.”
Though support for the project dominated the pavilion, some community members voiced concerns over cost, wondering if Gary residents could support the facility.
“This community does not have enough people that would actually help pay the monthly fee to sustain a building like this,” said Gary resident Robert Coleman.
Buckmaster remained hopeful in his response, pointing out the YMCA’s offering of income-based membership assistance.
Site preparation is scheduled to begin later this month, with an official groundbreaking ceremony to follow next month.