By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - More room means more opportunities for the community. That is the message from Bret Hendrie. And, that is exactly what the Executive Director of the Niles-Buchanan YMCA is expecting once the new facility along the St. Joseph riverfront is completed.
The point comes across even clearer in Hendrie's office located in the current ‘Y' at 315 W. Main St in Niles.
This comes as no surprise considering the amount of books, papers and building plans that fill the room.
The urgency is not about Hendrie or his office, though. It's about the new advantages for members that will appear along with the new 56,000 square foot building.
For now, Hendrie and his staff are working with a small pool and a gymnasium that is less than full size. A new gym will allow for adult and youth activities to take place simultaneously, a luxury that currently does not exist for Hendrie.
The running track at the new ‘Y' will also be larger, elevated, and, thanks to some large windows, will allow members to overlook the river while jogging or walking.
Other programs will benefit from the location of the new facility, which will rest on 8.5 acres of land at Front and Pokagon streets in downtown Niles.
Also joining Hendrie and his staff in the new building is Lakeland Regional Health Systems, which has signed a 20-year lease to occupy 5,000 square feet of the facility. Located in the wing will be another, smaller pool, which Hendrie says will remain at 94 degrees for physical therapy purposes.
Construction is underway on the new lot, but the process is not free of snags, Hendrie says. Near the end of the summer of 2004, Hendrie and the board of directors learned their budget would be $2 million short due to the rising cost of steel and concrete.
The setback, Hendrie says, does not take away from the fundraising campaign that has made the new facility possible. The fund drive is headed by Tim Tyler, whose connections to the ‘Y' extend back to the current facility's inception when a family member of Tyler's cut a check to cover the operating budget of the facility. The fundraiser has already generated $3.5 million and is the largest of its kind in the history of Niles.
You can bet that Hendrie will always be ready to do the same in return.