By By SPIROS GALLOS / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Niles-Buchanan YMCA Executive Director Bret Hendrie announced Monday announced that the ground-breaking for the new YMCA facility planned for Front and Pokagon streets, will not begin until spring of 2005.
The cost overruns Hendrie referred to include price increases in structural steel and concrete used in the building.
The cost of structural steel increased 150 percent from $40 per ton to over $100 per ton, adding an additional $800,000 to the cost of the facility.
The cost of concrete doubled from $40 per cubic yard to $80 per cubic yard. Hendrie couldn't estimate how much the price increase affected the project's cost, but he did say the increase was substantial.
Due to the cost overruns, the facility, which originally cost $7 million, is now projected to cost approximately $9 million. Hendrie said the YMCA would have a more firm understanding of the new budget in January after all the bids are examined.
The YMCA board of directors had considered options that would lower the cost of building the facility, but Hendrie said many of the options would lead to more costs in the future.
The decision to delay the start of construction was reached after YMCA officials examined their options with Weigand Construction Co. of Ft. Wayne, Ind., the firm in charge of the facility's construction.
If construction began now, it would have to be halted when winter weather conditions became too adverse for crews to continue working, Hendrie explained.
The cost of "winterizing" the construction site would also add unnecessary costs to the project, Hendrie said.
Hendrie said the ground breaking for the new facility will happen no later than April of 2005.
To offset the increases in costs, the YMCA is not building certain sections of the facility that were designated as "alternative" or add-on sections.
The sections that will not be built initially are the third gym, two multi-purpose rooms, and the water slide and whirl pool in the pool area.
Although the four sections will not be built initially, Hendrie said that the facility will be constructed and engineered so those section can be added later, when funds become available.
The change will reduce the facility's size from about 72,000 sq. ft. to just under 65,000 sq. ft.
The facility will also house a 5,000 sq. ft. rehabilitation center operated by Lakeland Regional Health System, which contributed a large amount to the fund-raising for the new facility.
The city donated the land at Front and Pokagon streets which the facility will be built on.
Hendrie also announced the YMCA had raised approximately $8 million towards the construction of the new facility.
In the past month, the YMCA has raised $500,000, with $400,000 coming from current donors extending their original donations and $100,000 coming from completely new donors.
Hendrie attributed much of the project's success to Tim Tyler, Chairman of the Fund-raising Committee.