The YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina still needs $3.5 million to completely fund its $15 million expansion in midtown Wilmington, but at an event Friday, YMCA supporters and local leaders celebrated the upcoming start of construction and the dollars raised so far.
The project will include transforming the existing 16,000-square-foot facility at 709 George Anderson Drive into a 48,000-square-foot, full-service community wellness center with an eight-lane pool and other features.
Crews are scheduled to begin site work for the Midtown YMCA expansion in early August and complete construction in about 15 months. Friday's occasion marked
ongoing efforts to grow the YMCA in the Wilmington area.
"More than 15 years ago, our Y realized that it could no longer effectively support and serve our community from just one location on Market Street," said Dick Jones, president and CEO of the YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina, at Friday's event. "As our community continues to grow, the Y needs to keep pace with that growth."
A fire at the Market Street location in 2015 caused a setback in growth efforts.
"We spent a few years rebuilding that with the help of our friends at Thomas Construction Group. That very busy facility today is known as the Nir Family YMCA," Jones said. The Nir name came as a result of a $2 million gift from Oaz Nir, the son of longtime YMCA Healthy Living Director Dalia Nir, in 2016.
About 10 years ago, the Y partnered with Temple Baptist Church to offer services at one of its properties, before buying the site from the church for the expansion.
"Two years ago, the Y purchased this property as part of a long-term strategy to provide access to full-service YMCA's across this county, with the downtown location on Market Street, the midtown and southern part of the county being served by this location on George Anderson Drive and Sidbury Road in Northern New Hanover County, a future YMCA site," Jones said.
In addition to the pool
(rendering shown above), the expanded Midtown YMCA is set to include:
- Expanded child care and youth development classrooms
- Dedicated group exercise studios
- Community meeting and gathering spaces
- Senior wellness areas
- Three locker rooms
- Expanded parking
- A covered outdoor "Airnasium" featuring a full-size basketball court, three pickleball courts, futsal goals and multi-purpose recreation space
Sophie Dagenais
(pictured at left), president and CEO of the New Hanover Community Endowment, was one of several speakers at Friday's event.
The endowment granted $4 million to the project, and she said the organization, formed from the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health in 2021, is proud that the grant "helped to propel this project forward."
Echoing other statements by officials, Dagenais also said, "This groundbreaking is happening because the YMCA, our local leaders, our state and federal partners and the philanthropy – not just of the endowment, but of many individuals and organizations – are coming together around a shared goal, and that is the health and the well-being of our community."
Once completed, the expanded Midtown YMCA is expected to serve more than 6,000 additional members annually, officials said Friday. The project, designed by LS3P and under construction by Thomas Construction Group, is also expected to double the site's child care capacity, expand youth and family programming, increase access to swim lessons and water safety education and provide new opportunities for healthy living, senior engagement and community connection, a YMCA news release stated.
As of Friday, the YMCA had raised more than $11.5 million toward the $15 million project "through an unprecedented collaboration of philanthropic, corporate and government partners. Transformational investments from The Endowment, Bruce B. Cameron Family Foundation and New Hanover County provided the foundation for the campaign, while $1.5 million in federal Community Project Funding, championed by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, and a $500,000 appropriation in the 2026-27 North Carolina State Budget, led by Rep. Ted Davis Jr., further advanced the project.
"Together, these investments have created the momentum necessary to begin construction while inspiring continued community support," the release stated.
According to the release, the Midtown YMCA will remain open and operational throughout construction, with limited interruptions to programs and services. Regular construction updates, facility information and project milestones will be shared through the YMCA's dedicated construction webpage and social media channels, the release stated.
