Good Deal for the Y

04/06/2005

Editorial
THE EXPOSITOR / BRANTFORD

At last, the YM-YWCA has somewhere to go. For a while, it looked as if the Y might be out on the street at the end of June when its old Queen Street building is sold. But the Y has made a good last-minute deal with developer King and Benton for temporary facilities in a brownfield building at Clarence and Wellington Streets.
By the end of summer, the Y will move to the former Work Wear building, which King and Benton is renovating for slightly more than $1 million. The new YM-YWCA Family Programs Centre will be a temporary facility for many programs until a full-service Y can be built, possibly near the casino in Eagle Place. The Family Programs Centre is intended to remain at Clarence and Wellington streets even after the full-service Y goes into operation.

For the Y, it’s a much needed new lease on life. The Y seems on track after decades of floundering to find a new facility. Make no mistake. The Y will continue to seek full-service facility with swimming pool, running track and squash courts. But now it can catch its breath as it looks for a long-term home.

The Family Programs Centre will offer daycare, which is much needed downtown. It will also have a gym, exercise area and meeting areas.

The deal is affordable. The Y’s 10-year lease basically will pay back King and Benton’s costs for the project.


It keeps the Y in the downtown.


The centre will be on a major street with plenty of parking. It will be a five-minute walk for Laurier students.


The interruption in service will be minimal.


The deal is flexible. The Y can buy the building at any time during its 10-year lease or it can walk away.


A brownfield building, which has been vacant for 10 years, will be renovated into a good-looking building and returned to productive use.

Congratulations to King and Benton for its creative approach to the redevelopment of a brownfield building and to the Y’s leadership for expressing confidence in its future.

The Y has 150 yeas of excellent service in Brantford. The move to Clarence and Wellington streets will be a stepping stone to the organization’s continuing success.