A new YMCA in downtown Barrie just got a little closer Monday night.
City council heard an update of the Y’s plans to build its new $50-million facility at the H-Block property, right beside the Barrie Public Library.
And while the city still owns the Worsley Street property and has not agreed to the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka’s $2.5-million capital funding request, there was plenty of enthusiasm for the project.
“The potential to consider the H-Block… this just makes so much sense,” Mayor Jeff Lehman said. “The synergies with the library right next door, how our downtown is going to have two public buildings of kind of similar scale and similar orientation.
“Buildings that welcome newcomers, buildings that welcome people from all income backgrounds, buildings that deliver services to people in our community and focus on kids and, of course, the Y is the biggest provider of daycare in Simcoe County," he added.
In late June, Barrie city council gave its legal staff authority to negotiate an agreement of purchase and sale with the YMCA for 50 Worsley St., long been referred to locally as the H-Block, which is a little less than two acres.
Only Coun. Robert Thomson questioned the project, from a financial perspective, on Monday night.
“It’s exciting and a great building. I’m a little bit nervous about the ask ($2.5 million)," he said, noting council just went through the city budget for 2022, operating and capital, which sets property taxes and service levels.
“I don’t want to rain on the parade… but it’s quite an ask with the land and everything,” Thomson said. “I think it’s a great asset to the city and I think it’s great in the downtown, but I do have some challenges with the ask.”
Lehman said a decision on the funding and the H-Block property would likely be made early next year.
“I would say negotiations are at an advanced stage, but it will be subject to a decision of council likely in the third week of January,” he said.
Confidential correspondence concerning a potential disposition of land matter — the YMCA in downtown Barrie — was referred back to legal service staff by city council Monday for a report in January.
Funding for the Y facility will come from several sources.
Late last June, the province announced $29.9 million in funding for the new YMCA facility. Prior to the pandemic, in the fall of 2019, the Y launched its ‘100 Reasons Y’ fundraising campaign, which has already raised $5.5 million. There will also be $4.5 million from selling the former Y site on Grove Street and $2.5 million in funding from the County of Simcoe, which Barrie is being asked to match. That still leaves a gap of $7.6 million
The facility is to have a three-classroom licensed child care, health and fitness amenities, swimming pools, community meeting spaces and an indoor playground. It will also have permanent space for cancer and cardiac rehabilitation programs delivered by Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) and transitional housing for youth operated by Youth Haven.
The Y has also begun meeting with Barrie Public Library staff to find new opportunities to work together. The new YMCA would also support the Barrie health accord and the community safety and well-being plan.
“We believe this is the area where the Y can have the greatest impact on our community,” fundraising campaign co-chairman Brian Tamblyn said of the H-Block site.
He noted there is more fundraising to do and the funding gap can be filled.
“I don’t think anyone has said ‘no’ to us yet,” he said. “We haven’t even gone public yet. We have raised this ($5.5 million) in the quiet phase. We’re pretty optimistic we will be able to fund this 100 per cent.”
YMCA board chair Lynn Strachan agreed.
“We do have a plan to continue to raise funds from the community, and borrow funds if needed,” she said. “This is the Y we need for the Barrie we want.”
“Everybody loves the Y,” said Coun. Sergio Morales. “The brand is ubiquitous with community.”
“It’s a terrific project and I think it’s in a great spot,” said Coun. Clare Riepma. “ I think it will help our downtown and certainly it matches up very nicely with the library next door to it as well.”
“What a stunning design this is,” said Coun. Mike McCann. “I hope what we get is really close to this.”
Y officials say building on the H-Block site supports the city’s vision for the downtown core. The facility would create both short-term employment through the construction phase, but also long-term permanent part-time and full-time jobs.
The Y would also bring increased foot traffic into the core to support local small businesses. With intensification coming to this neighbourhood, it is important to provide amenities to support this development with health and wellness options, licensed child care, public meeting spaces, etc., Y officials say.
Proceeds from selling the Y’s former Grove Street property are going toward the new downtown facility, after the Y determined it was not financially viable to reopen the Grove Street facility, given its age and the impact of the pandemic on the Y as a charity.
The latest plans for 10-24 Grove St. W. show an Official Plan amendment and rezoning approved by council in October 2017 and the bylaw approved by council the following March.
What’s proposed is the development of three buildings 21, 25 and 25 storeys in height, a five-storey podium and a standalone eight-storey mid-rise building, for a total of 928 residences. The site plan remains under review by city planning staff.
The new Y facility had been part of HIP Development’s plans at 34-50 Bradford St. and a portion of 125 Dunlop St. W., for a project that includes two 20-storey towers, one 10-storey residential building, a semi-public urban parkette containing the heritage facade of the former Prince of Wales school and a five-storey parking structure. There would be 600 residential units on its nearly seven acres. This property was rezoned mid-2019, with site-plan control approval pending.
The possible location of a supervised consumption site (SCS) right around the corner from the HIP site, at 11 Innisfil St., changed those plans. Scott Higgins, HIP president, said the site plan needed to be reworked because of the potential location of the SCS —which still requires Health Canada and Ontario health ministry approval, and funding.
This reconfiguration of the site has left no room for a new YMCA facility, as HIP buildings will now front Bradford Street, where the Y was to be located.
An SCS provides a safe space and sterile equipment for individuals to use pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health-care staff; consumption means taking opioids and other drugs by injection, smoking, snorting or orally.
Higgins expressed reservations last summer about the SCS after council endorsed its location. He said that wasn’t the correct location for the SCS, that HIP had not been consulted by the city or the proponents, which are the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Simcoe County Branch.
