YMCA coming to downtown Raleigh
DOWNTOWN RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A new YMCA is coming to downtown Raleigh.
The non-profit made the announcement Tuesday morning.
YMCA of the Triangle said it plans to occupy more than 26,000 square feet on the bottom three floors at 227 Fayetteville Street, the former Wachovia building.
"It's an exciting time for us to expand in a really dynamic market of fast growth in the area," said YMCA of the Triangle Chief Financial Officer Bryan Huffman.
Huffman said the new location will offer adult wellness programs, group fitness classes, and possibly a basketball facility.
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The non-profit looked at more than a dozen potential sites before deciding on the Fayetteville Street location, the organization's fourth Raleigh branch.
"It makes it a little more livable down here when you know that you've got a YMCA where people can exercise, workout, get together," said Bill King with Downtown Raleigh Alliance. "It makes it that much more attractive to put an office down here. People can do that during lunch or they can do that before work a lot easier."
YMCA of the Triangle got its start in downtown Raleigh more than 100 years ago on Edenton Street.
Huffman said a surge of new residents and businesses attracted the organization back to the area.
"I think we're only at the cusp for both organizations, the town of Raleigh as well as the YMCA as an institution, and so this growth into downtown really sort of signifies the coming together of pushing that forward (the growth) in a massive way," he said.
The non-profit is still in the design phase.
Construction is expected to start this summer with an opening date of late fall/early winter.
