It’s been a long time coming, and Ottawa YMCA CEO Joe Capece says he feels good. The Y Thursday morning bought the land where a new community center will go behind the Knights of Columbus building from Ottawa City Hall.
The city sold the land for $10 and is pledging up to $3 million in support from a tax increment financing fund. The project is expected to cost around $20 million. Capece says designs are still in development and construction dates must also still be determined.
The current YMCA building has been in use since 1956, four years after the Ottawa Y chapter formed. The Y has outgrown it. It’s also prone to flooding, being next to the Fox River.
The new location is also next to a river. However, the Y plans to raise the land level to seven feet higher than the record high flood at Ottawa. There will be no basement to take on water.
Left to right: Ottawa YMCA CEO Joe Capece, Ottawa City Clerk Shelly Munks, Mayor Dan Aussem, Ottawa YMCA Board Chair Konni Rodeghier after signing documents transferring the former Central School track to the Y.