JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The YMCA in Riverside that opened a little over two years ago is already planning to expand. The Winston Family “Y” has 15,000 members and the building is not big enough to accommodate the growth.
Executive Director Timothy Burrows said the $3 million expansion will focus on three areas. There will be an 8,000-square-foot expansion on the rooftop, an expansion of the kids zone area and a new intergenerational space focusing on seniors and teens.
“We need to make sure that we serve more people for their health and wellness, but at the end of the day, we’re so much more than a gym, so having three spaces here -- it’s just going to help so much more with the community,” Burrows explained.
Burrows said the rooftop space will be the only one of its kind in this area.
“It will be beautiful views overlooking the St. Johns River. It will have some self-powered equipment, some functional training type equipment, a little pavilion space. You can imagine doing sunrise yoga or having spin class out on the roof,” Burrows said.
The Winston family YMCA helped serve nearly half a million people last year and the demand is only expected to grow over the next few years with members traveling from five counties surrounding Duval.
Robert Brown told News4Jax he loves how the YMCA brings the community together.
“To see little kids and to see the older people, it’s just a good cross-section of our community,” Brown said.
The Winston YMCA will begin a campaign to raise the $3 million in January. Once it's raised 75 percent, the YMCA will begin construction. The YMCA hopes to have the money raised by the end of 2019 and begin construction in early 2020.