Y? Yes! Indeed

YMCA Silicon Valley will lease its Red Morton Park site from the city, and will pay the entire cost of construction. It will also be selling its Hudson Street location to Redwood City, presumably once the new building is fully operational.

Although I must admit that I’ve never set foot in Redwood City’s existing YMCA, based on the plans and the presentation given at Monday’s meeting, the new one will clearly be a big improvement. Designed to complement the new Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center (VMSC), the new Y will be made primarily of glass, metal and wood. It will employ “mass-timber hybrid construction,” meaning that many, but not all, of the building’s structural elements will be made of wood. Like the new VMSC, the YMCA building will be two stories tall but, at just over 36,000 square feet, will be somewhat smaller in terms of total area than its new neighbor. In any case, all of that square footage will enclose a large health and wellness center with exercise machines, weight machines and free weights; rooms for stretching and exercise classes; an indoor pool (with a second pool located just outside the building); a child care facility that can accommodate up to 72 children ages 18 months — five years (with an adjacent outdoor play area); a multiuse community room suitable for meetings or classes (including CPR and AED — automated external defibrillator — training); offices; locker rooms; and restrooms. And, there will be a pair of outdoor spaces on the second floor for open-air exercising.

Just as this new YMCA’s physical design complements the adjacent new VMSC, so too will the two building’s functions complement one another. For instance, although the new YMCA won’t contain a basketball court, the next-door VMSC now does (a half court, anyway). And while the VMSC has dedicated rooms for both wellness and adaptive physical education classes, it does not have general exercise equipment — but of course the next-door YMCA will. Thus, seniors who are also members of the Y can go back and forth, taking full advantage of both facilities.

As for parking, the two parking lots that will be located on the northwest (Madison Avenue side) and southwest sides of the building will contain a total of 180 spaces. The city plans to add an additional 56 spaces in and around Red Morton Park, thereby increasing park capacity by 236 parking spaces to accommodate both those using this new YMCA and those using the Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center, while preserving “Valota Green.” That is the open field along Valota Road where popular events such as Pub in the Park and Shakespeare in the Park are typically held.

A YMCA membership isn’t normally free, but not only are there reduced rates for seniors, veterans and households, there actually will be free teen memberships for summer months when schools are not in session. Plus, the YMCA offers scholarships and financial assistance. Finally, the first Sunday of each month will be an “open community swim” day, there will be quarterly “free access” days for Redwood City residents, and the Y will offer residents free education seminars and workshops on subjects such as nutrition and wellness, also quarterly.

The YMCA has been present in Redwood City for almost a century. I am delighted to see that its presence looks to not only continue, but to thrive. Along with the adjacent VMSC and the nearby Magical Bridge Playground, this new YMCA will undoubtedly improve the lives of countless Redwood City residents of all ages.