TOLEDO, Ohio — The city of Toledo is set to break ground tomorrow on the new Wayman D. Palmer YMCA on 14th Street in central Toledo. People who use it and live nearby told WTOL 11 it's long overdue.
"This has been a need for so long," said Sharon Crawford.
Crawford uses the current YMCA building and has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years. She worked as a site director for the YMCA's after-school programs for eight years, too.
"I've been here when things needed fixing, when things broke down, when we had to figure out how to keep it running, and to keep staff," Crawford said. "So, I think this will be a plus."
Executive Director Eric Williams said a new space will allow the YMCA to serve more people.
"When you look at where the Y is today, we serve in a big way," Williams said. "But the new building will enable us to serve in a great way for everyone in the family."
Williams said the original plan was to renovate the existing building. But with American Rescue Plan money and other funding, the neighborhood will get a brand-new YMCA instead.
"I'm excited for the community," Williams said. "This will be one of the bigger projects in this community for quite some time, if not ever. But I also hope it sparks some more development in the area."
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said starting construction means a lot to him and the community.
"It's following through on a promise that we made to Toledo and in particular to folks who live in the Warren Sherman Neighborhood who unfortunately haven't seen the kind of investment that they deserve in 50, 60, maybe 70 years," he said.
Kapszukiewicz said people in the neighborhood felt it wouldn't happen because of promises that were broken in the past.
"I'm proud and excited tomorrow to show that we followed through," Kapszukiewicz said. "We put our money where our mouth is. And this is a promise we made and a promise we kept."
The YMCA building isn't the only thing that's getting redeveloped in the neighborhood. The park next to the current YMCA will also get an upgrade.
