Green Bay Downtown YMCA Begins $13 Million Renovation Project in Historic Building

(Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the amount of racquetball courts currently at the downtown location. The renovations will decrease the number of racquetball courts from three to one in order to expand gymnastics programming.)

Renovations are underway at the Greater Green Bay, Wisconsin, YMCA's downtown location.

Upgrades made in the $13 million project, which began April 18, are being made to cover the community's current and anticipated needs in the 90-year-old building, according to the Downtown YMCA. The new facility will add a number of enhancements, including a two-story wellness area, an expanded gymnastics center, increased circulation and visibility with a center atrium, a family adventure zone, new locker rooms and an added family locker room.

Plans also call for a new accessible entrance option and replacement of most ventilation and roofing systems. A member survey revealed that ventilation improvements were needed in many areas, including the wellness center, locker rooms, lobbies as well as air conditioning/cooling to the gymnastics area.

The Downtown YMCA noted that its gymnastics program has been growing, and the Y plans to expand the gymnastics area by decreasing its number of racquetball courts from three to one. Demand for racquetball averages around 20 to 30 members weekly, and the demand for gymnastics programming averages more than 200 members weekly, the Y said on its renovation project page.

The Downtown YMCA will continue to use Matrix cardio equipment in the renovated facility, but it is working toward adding personal viewing screens to each piece. Strength equipment will be a combination of current Matrix and Cybex equipment. All free weight equipment will be replaced, the Y said.

The project is expected to be completed between April 2017 and October 2017. The Downtown YMCA expects the renovations, along with recent downtown revitalization projects in business and residential spaces, to add to its current member count of 2,000.

Berners-Schobers and Associates Inc. is the architect, and Immel Construction is serving as construction manager. The Downtown YMCA building was recently placed on both the Wisconsin and National Register of Historic Places.

Updates on the renovation are available here. Below is a virtual tour of the renovation plan.