A groundbreaking ceremony for the Downtown YMCA at the former Madison Elementary School gymnasium on West Fort Wayne Street, Warsaw, took place Monday afternoon. Show from left are Jim Swanson, Kosciusko YMCA CEO; Scott Schneider, YMCA Board of Directors president; Joe Thallemer, Warsaw mayor; Craig Snow, Indiana state representative; Cary Groninger, G & G Hauling & Excavator co-owner and Gateway Grove co-developer; Lisa O’Neill, Lake City Bank CFO; and Jennifer Stewart, K21 Health Foundation grants manager.

Text and Photos
By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Eighty percent of Kosciusko YMCA’s membership lives north of U.S. 30.

The new YMCA facility, that will be located in the former Madison Elementary School gymnasium, 575 W. Fort Wayne St., Warsaw, could change that statistic. A groundbreaking ceremony for the building’s renovation — the YMCA’s third facility in the county — took place Monday afternoon.

The other two YMCA facilities are the main campus on the north side of U.S. 30 and in the North Webster Community Center.

At the groundbreaking Monday, Jim Swanson, Kosciusko YMCA CEO, said, “This has been in the works for probably a couple years. We started thinking about this part of town, about ways we could serve this part of town better. Certainly, the downtown and what’s happening there. Certainly, the neighborhood, the new construction as well as the neighborhood that’s well-established here. And we started imagining — is there a complex, is there a place, is there a building, is there something that we could connect with, a partner that we could connect with to put a facility up downtown?”

A little over a year ago, he said an opportunity presented itself with G & G Hauling & Excavating and the YMCA Board of Directors was quick to jump on board.

“We learned pretty quick that crossing 30, the growing area, the need down here was real, so we’re excited to do this,” Swanson stated.

Scott Schneider, YMCA Board of Directors president, on the right, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the Downtown YMCA at the former Madison Elementary School gymnasium site.

He then thanked G & G; K21 Health Foundation, for their lead gift; Lake City Bank, for helping to make it possible; the YMCA Board of Directors, who he called “incredible visionaries”; and the YMCA staff, for accepting the challenge.

On the facility space, Swanson said the upstairs will be a 24/7 model concept, which is new for the YMCA. The downstairs is the gymnasium.

“In Indiana, you don’t destroy a gymnasium or you don’t want to be linked to destroying a gymnasium. So, anyway, we’re thrilled to be carrying on that legacy here,” he said, noting his kids played at the former Madison gym. “… We’ll have a 24/7 fitness center upstairs. We’ll be doing athletic programs, team, group exercise, things like that downstairs — a lot of the normal services.”

All the details haven’t been worked out yet, Swanson said, but basketball, volleyball, an indoor soccer concept and indoor pickleball are part of the preliminary plans.

Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said, “We wouldn’t be here without the Groninger family’s vision and investment into this historic neighborhood. You are all aware that housing is an issue in our community, specifically workforce housing. Cary (Groninger) and his family and a group got together and decided that this neighborhood could be an important part of this community, and they’ve demonstrated that.”

The focus of the gym is not fifth- and sixth-grade basketball now, but on community health, a vibrant downtown and a connection to that downtown. Thallemer said the former Madison — which later became the Gateway Educational Center — was a hub of activity, and now with the YMCA’s investment, the hub will be the focus of more growth and prosperity in the area.

Thallemer thanked the YMCA Board and the Groninger family for resurrecting the gymnasium.
“I have no doubt it will shine and sparkle,” he said.

Lisa O’Neill, Lake City Bank chief financial officer and also a board member for the YMCA and K21, said, “This is a wonderful moment to be celebrating the expansion of the YMCA. I know Jim’s spent a lot of time thinking about this community and the needs of this community, and so this facility will help fill a void on the south side of route 30 for people to come and work out. It’s also great that we’re going to be doing something new with the 24/7 access, but also repurposing something old with preserving the basketball court.”

Cary Groninger, co-owner of G & G Hauling & Excavating and co-developer of the Gateway Grove residential subdivision in Warsaw, explains how the upstairs of the former Madison Elementary School gymnasium will look after it’s renovated to a 24/7 YMCA facility.

She said Lake City Bank has about 350 employees in the downtown Warsaw campus, embodying about seven buildings and growing. All of those folks will be excited about how close the new YMCA facility will be to downtown Warsaw.

Jennifer Stewart, representing K21, said one of the core visions of the Health Foundation is that every Kosciusko County resident has the opportunity for a healthy lifestyle and “this creates that. The YMCA has just been — I want to say the hands and feet of our mission statement. That you are creating active, healthy, health programs. You guys have just done what our mission statement says. You guys are such a great fit for us.”

People are excited about the YMCA having a facility on the south and west side of the city, she said.
“This is a big vision and we’re excited to see the fruition of it,” Stewart concluded.

Cary Groninger, co-owner of G & G and co-developer of the Gateway Grove housing subdivision that is growing where the former Madison school was, thanked the YMCA, Lake City Bank and K21 for seeing the vision they are trying to create there. Gateway Grove has five homes complete with four sold. When all phases are completed, there will be 62 homes.

“I really think this is an opportunity for us to really impact not only the new community that we’re building, but the downtown area, the number of businesses. We’re really trying to create that vibrant downtown that’s able to really attract the workforce that we want for the 21st century. We’ve got to be able to have good areas for health and wellness, and I really think this is going to be a facility that’s going to add to our community and our downtown network,” he said.

Groninger said they knew from the start they couldn’t demolish the gymnasium and had to find a real good use for it as a community asset, not only for the Gateway Grove neighborhood but the whole neighborhood and the downtown area.

Scott Schneider, YMCA Board of Directors president, said he was very excited about being able to serve the surrounding community who might not otherwise have access to health and wealth opportunities, as well as the facility going to be 24/7. He thanked the K21, Groninger and Lake City Bank for their involvement.

After Swanson shared the YMCA’s mission statement, Schneider gave a prayer.

After the ceremony, Swanson said they are not adding on to the building at this point. There will be a parking lot and a new face and archway added to the building. The upstairs — the 24/7 fitness area — will have restrooms and single-stall showers. In the basement, the gym floor is being redesigned and updated. The old lockerrooms are being removed to make space for a group exercise room. The restrooms downstairs also will be redesigned. Upstairs, there will be windows looking down into the gymnasium so parents can watch their children while they work out.

Swanson said it will have some staffing during the day. After the doors are locked, a person will have to use a fob key to get in.

Cost of the renovation is between $1.4 to $1.7 million, he estimated. As of Friday, he said the work should be completed by March, if not sooner.

“Cary Groninger, they made it happen. So, G & G Hauling made it happen and this city wants us here, so we’re in,” Swanson said.

The facility — about 13,000 square foot — will be known as The Downtown YMCA, but he said he is looking for a lead donor that could come with naming rights.

Schneider said one of the things that really excited him and the board about the project, “When we looked at the demographics, 80% of our members were north of 30. So when we saw that and we saw that, as far as areas in Warsaw that could use some opportunity, we were really excited about this space specifically just with the demographics of this area, just wanting to have an opportunity to provide this service here.”