Officials with the YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina hope to begin expanding the Y's midtown location this year, possibly by this summer, in a project that would include a pool, expanded fitness center and the potential capacity to serve thousands more residents.

The organization's president and CEO, Dick Jones, appeared before the Wilmington City Council on Monday as part of the Y's campaign to get local governments to pitch in, specifically seeking $1 million from the city. Having already raised $8.1 million, with half of that coming from a New Hanover Community Endowment matching grant, the region's Y is more than halfway toward the $15 million it needs to fund the project at 709 George Anderson Drive, Jones said. Another $2 million could come from the state.

State and local elected officials are in the midst of planning next year's spending.

"We know that budgets are tight, and so our recommendation is to fund this over multiple years, probably five years, so that it is not too large a chunk in any particular year," Jones told the Wilmington City Council on Monday morning. "We are also asking the county to fund $1.5 million of this project."

Wilmington City Councilman Luke Waddell grew up with the YMCA in New Bern. It was the place where he earned a lifeguard certification and played basketball. 

"It was a big part of my life, and so I certainly understand the need for the community to continue to expand it. So I want to try and help. All that being said, as you said, budgets are tight ... I'm sure we're looking at ... how to mitigate inflation just like everybody else is. We're looking at how to make sure we're paying our people the right way," Waddell said.

He asked Jones to provide examples of how YMCAs elsewhere were able to leverage supplemental funding from taxpayers.

"Really just other instances where it's been done successfully, hopefully in the state, for major capital projects. I do see the need. I do see the benefit to the community, but I'm just kind of looking at what point other cities, maybe across the state, have funded YMCA capital projects," Waddell said to Jones. "[I'm] not asking for that off the top of your head here, but maybe over the course of the next couple weeks. If y'all could bring something like that to me, maybe the rest of the council, it would be helpful."

Jones agreed to provide the information, saying there are examples of local and state funding partnerships for YMCA capital projects in the central part of the state and North Carolina's larger cities.

Currently, the Midtown YMCA in Wilmington has 16,000 square feet; the expansion project (rendering of the exterior pictured above) would bring that to 48,000 square feet. By comparison, the Nir Family YMCA on Market Street is 60,000 square feet, Y officials said Monday.

They said the Midtown project would result in:

• Three new multi-sport courts and a full-size basketball court
• An 8,555-square-foot aquatics center with a pool
• More classrooms for out-of-school child care, sports, enrichment and career development opportunities for youth and teens
• Meeting spaces to expand chronic disease prevention programs
• Gathering places for seniors to engage in exercise, sports and social opportunities
• Greater access to child care, wellness, swimming and sports through financial assistance
• Additional part-time and full-time job opportunities

According to the Y, the anticipated results would be:

• 6,000 additional members, with an estimated 1,800 being seniors over the age of 65
• 50% growth in child care enrollment including preschool, afterschool and summer camps
• 2,000 additional swimming lessons each year
• Capacity to provide water safety lessons to second-grade students in New Hanover County

Getting a commitment for the funds (the actual dollars wouldn't have to be provided yet) from the city, Jones said, would allow the Y to break ground on the expansion this summer, which could result in an opening of the expanded facility as early as November 2026.