It's a 15-year project coming to fruition, and the doors should open Nov. 3.
The first two phases of the Wood River Community YMCA are taking shape. The structure is complete. Walls are mostly installed. The first hints of an eventual fitness and recreation center are coalescing.
"It's a community dream come true," said Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall, who along with other city officials and employees toured the under-construction building on Friday, June 8.
"Over 15 years ago this community, through its wisdom, decided to buy that land for recreation, and we were fortunate to find the best recreation provider in the world, and that's the YMCA, to partner with," Hall said.
Unofficially called the park-and-ride lot, the YMCA property became a city dumping ground, as well as a place for skiers to park before catching buses to the Warm Springs base of the Bald Mountain ski area.
The city acquired the lot in 1991, through a judgment rendered by 5th District Judge James May on a condemnation proceeding. Citizens approved a bond issue to buy the lot and qualified its uses for parking, recreation or cultural facilities.
The city hemmed and hawed during the ensuing decade trying to figure out what to do with the valuable 6-acre property. It eventually partnered, however, with the YMCA. With solid voter approval in a November 2004 advisory vote, the city moved forward with a $1 lease for the YMCA to lease the property for 99 years.
The first two phases, which constitute 56,000 square feet of the eventually 90,000-square-foot facility, are under construction. They will include swimming pools, yoga studios, a climbing wall, workout facilities and lounge areas. The third phase, an ice arena, will be built subsequently. The organization is still $2 million short to complete the first two phases, but has expressed optimism that it will obtain the money through its ongoing fund-raising campaign. Another $5 million will be required to build the ice arena.
"I think the progress is just fantastic," Hall said. "I'm very excited. Just walking through the building gave me goose bumps about what this building is going to provide for our entire community."
City of Ketchum employees tour the under-construction Wood River Community YMCA at the corner of Warm Springs and Saddle roads in Ketchum. This area will include insulation and heating apparatus for hot yoga, a form of yoga performed in elevated heat. Photo by Willy Cook
