By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - It's official, the Niles-Buchanan YMCA broke ground for Phase I of its new facility Friday afternoon.
The first phase of the $8.5 million project will be a 56,000-square-foot building which will be located on the St. Joseph River at the corner of N. Front and Pokagon streets in Niles.
The facility will include a 5,000- square-foot rehabilitation center operated by Lakeland Regional Health System.
The new YMCA facility is anticipated to open in 12 to 14 months and the old facility located on Main Street will be sold in 2006.
Gary Dreher, president of the Niles-Buchanan YMCA board of directors, said, "This day has been a long time coming. It has taken six years of planning and it is truly awesome to see this great project be completed for the communities of Niles and Buchanan.
Dreher went on to thank those community members who volunteered their time to make this happen and for the boards of directors both past and present which have made this a success. Finally, he thanked those who made the commitment of donating funds.
A person who played a big role in making the new YMCA facility become a reality is Niles-Buchanan YMCA Executive Director Bret Hendrie.
The board of directors also gave big thanks to Lakeland Hospital for being patient and supportive in the whole process and also for the partnership between the hospital and Y from which many good things will come in the ensuing years.
Joe Wassermann, CEO of Lakeland Regional Health System, said, "This joint venture between Lakeland Regional Health System and Niles-Buchanan is representative of Lakeland's continued commitment to enhance the way that health care is delivered to our communities.
Niles Mayor Mike McCauslin reminded the 150 people in attendance Friday afternoon that in the past few days we have been reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a community such as Niles and in the Midwest after seeing the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Both State Senator Ron Jelinek and State Representative Neal Nitz were in attendance at the ground breaking offered words of praise to those in the community who made the new YMCA possible and for bringing a great legacy to southwest Michigan.
The new Y facility, which should open in December of 2006 will feature an elevated track, large gym, first class fitness center, six-lane indoor regulation swimming pool, a warm water therapeutic pool, and more daycare and community multi-purpose space.