As Tim Sinatra worked on plans for Salem’s new YMCA, he visited gyms around the country.
The YMCA CEO said many of the people he talked to were confused when he described his vision — a gym for everyone.
“The wellness industry really caters to 15% of the population,” he said — generally younger, able-bodied people.
Salem’s YMCA will be different, Sinatra told donors and civic leaders during a tour of the facility last week.
“Let’s make a YMCA where everyone who walks in there feels like this is a place for themselves,” Sinatra said.
The three-story downtown building, years in the making, is in the final stages of construction. YMCA leaders are hoping to open it to the public by the end of the month.
The $30.5 million project replaces the nearly century-old fitness center that once stood at the corner of Northeast Cottage and Chemeketa streets. After a slow start to fundraising and financial challenges, the project eventually got off the ground with demolition on the old building in late 2019, and new construction in spring 2021. Millions of dollars in state grants, thanks to longtime YMCA member and Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, aided in construction.
Sinatra said he envisions the Y as a place to strengthen families.
“I don’t care how you define family,” he said, noting the term could be a single parent, nuclear family or grandparent with grandchildren. But the YMCA aims to offer ways for families of every age to connect and participate in activities together.
The philosophy of access for all informed the nonprofit’s programs, which will include preschool classes, swim lessons and events for seniors once the building opens.
But it’s also baked into the design of the building itself.
The main workout area on the second floor features large windows overlooking Northeast Court Street, with views of the Oregon Capitol. Sinatra said that design choice is based on data showing gym-goers use workout equipment far more if it’s by a window, because people want natural light and a view when they’re exercising, even if they’re watching TV.
Much of the equipment is the standard treadmills and ellipticals found in most gyms, albeit brand new. But the area also features accessible equipment with seats that can move to accommodate people in wheelchairs. Some weight machines use compressed air to create resistance, rather than actual weights, allowing users to adjust the amount they’re lifting in small intervals and making pick-up and set-down easier — a benefit for people with limited mobility or those recovering from injuries.
The space has wider aisles than most gyms, Sinatra said, so people can comfortably talk to friends or neighbors during workouts without blocking access to equipment. The layout of the workout area is designed so a wheelchair user can hold a conversation with two other people and leave enough space for others to get around and access machines.
The ground floor includes a pool, gymnasium and cafe area that will transform into a teen center mid-afternoon when local schools get out.
Vanessa Nordyke, a Salem city councilor and YMCA board member, said the modern facilities are a vast improvement over the aging building where she learned to swim as a kid.
“This is night and day from what it was,” Nordyke said.
The ground floor also features two preschool classrooms, each with space for 20 children, as well as a childcare area so parents or caregivers can leave their children while they work out or attend events at the Y.
Fifteen of the preschool slots will be for families enrolled in Oregon’s Preschool Promise program, which pays for free preschool classes for low and middle income families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty limit.
The YMCA is still waiting on some certifications for the program, but hopes to open classes in October, said Jessica Otjen, the YMCA’s resource development director. The preschool space was a later addition to the project, intended to address the shortage of childcare providers in Marion and Polk counties that existed before the pandemic and worsened as dozens of local daycares and preschools closed their doors.
Otjen said the program will offer care for up to 10.5 hours per day. Specifics are still being developed, but preschool will include both classroom activities as well as swim lessons and other physical activities.
“We want to open as soon as possible because we know people need it,” she said.
The building’s third story is a covered outdoor track offering sweeping views of the city and Capitol Mall. One lap is one-tenth of a mile.
Throughout the building are private rooms that can serve as workout studios or host community events and meetings, something Sinatra has said he wants to prioritize as the YMCA pursues or maintains partnerships with other Salem nonprofits and groups.
The YMCA will celebrate the new building with a public ribbon cutting Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m., with self-guided building tours. The YMCA is located at 685 Court St. N.E.Though the YMCA hasn’t set a firm opening date, memberships for the new gym are available for purchase on their website.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
