Monday, April 5, 2010

Preview of the new YMCA April 1, 2010 Part 1

Last Thursday as a member of the YMCA Endowment Fund I was part of a select group of supporters to partake in the first preview showing of the new downtown YMCA which will reopen for business on May 3, 2010.

For the past 3 + years a new facility has been taking shape on the grounds of the old building - the facade with its heritage value has been preserved and upgraded to meet current standards.

This is a rather long look so it is divided into two parts with commentary with each of the images.
I hope you enjoy these two pages of my blog and I hope to see some of you at the new facility when it opens.

The new building will serve the diverse community of Vancouver - in addition to the athletic facilities, it will house our community services and international development programs and also have a two story family and child development center capable of handling 69 child care spaces + community kitchen and meeting areas.

Lets begin the tour with this look at the Burrard St south entrance which now boasts an accessible ramp.


The main entrance to the building will be on Barclay street and you will go up a half flight of stairs to the membership entrance, coffee shop which is in the same location as before.
Please remember that we only got possession of the building from the contractor a week ago so there is still much work to be done on the inside in preparation for the grand opening.

FIFTH FLOOR - FAMILY AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER:

I then take the elevator up to the fifth floor - the public part of the family development center where we will all meet, have some snacks courtesy of the new food service provides, get officially welcomed and then are broken up into groups of ten for the tour - most of my group is made up of long time Y members who I know very well. I invited my god mother along as my guest and she was part of this tour as well.
Being officially welcomed as the first group to tour the new facility.

Helping ourselves to some of the food provided - it was also a time fro me to renew some acquaintances that I hadn't seen in some time.

This is the playground or public area on the fifth floor - this floor can be used to house events.


SIXTH FLOOR - CHILD CARE CENTER AND SECURE AREA:

Then it was up one floor to the child care center - this will be a secure area with card access only.

It is fully equipped with a kitchen - sleeping area

Outdoor play area with great views of the downtown core.


FOURTH FLOOR EXERCISE AREAS -

There are two large exercises areas that take up most of the fourth floor as well as the program offices where you will find Debbie C and her staff - the equipment hasn't been installed yet as there is still some finishing work to be done.

You also get a good view of the gym from this floor - each floor is bright and airy.







This is the end of part 1 See Part 2 for the remainder of the preview.

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