By Elizabeth Cloutman
 Photo by Joe Hu, Town Crier |
Plate glass windows are in place, interior and exterior walls emit the smell of fresh paint, and construction workers are in the process of installing flooring in the new addition to the El Camino branch of the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula. Area residents can expect to enjoy the 32,000-square-foot facility by mid-July, if not sooner.
“The contractors, Vance Brown Builders of Palo Alto, are well ahead of schedule, and it’s rapidly nearing completion,” said Ron Markillie, executive director of the El Camino branch. “Everything’s pretty much done … We’re anticipating that probably by the end of June or sooner the building will be turned over to us. It will take a certain period of time to move our equipment into the new facility. We will have a more exact date within the next two weeks.” He added that the branch has scheduled a special open house June 23 for those who have donated to the building fund.
The $7.2 million addition to the Grant Road Facility features a full-size gymnasium with a basketball court, a 6,000-square-foot Wellness Center with fitness and weight equipment, two smaller exercise rooms for classes such as yoga and Pilates and a new maintenance area. Another important feature is a new Krause Foundation Child Watch facility with an outside play area, where children age 4 and under can play in a supervised facility while their parents enjoy other Y programs. The architect for the facility is Linda Poncini of Carrasco and Associates, a Palo Alto architectural firm.
The new addition will free up room in the original facility for new YMCA programs, Markillie said. The old Child Watch room is set to become the Mountain View Kiwanis Club Teen Center. The current weight room is to be converted to a counseling center that will offer child, teen and family counseling programs. The multipurpose room, currently shared by adult exercise classes, Gym Ventures for young children and other programs will be used as a drop-in center for children, ages 5-10, and senior activities, as well as remaining the location for Gym Ventures.
Markillie noted the room where members currently use fitness equipment will be converted to additional staff offices, a new massage room and a special-needs changing area, equipped with a shower and a restroom. “This will be ideal for a mom with a young son or for an elderly couple when one spouse is disabled and needed assistance when changing before using the pool,” he said.
“Phase three,” as Markillie calls the remodeling of the original facility, is set to commence just as soon as the new addition opens. Remodeling is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Markillie said the expanded facilities will mean an expansion of community outreach programs. For example, while off-site sports activities and sports camps will continue, “the new gym will mean more of the youth on the waiting list for youth basketball can be accommodated … We’d also like to start a midnight basketball program.” The branch also plans to expand on existing adult programs by adding investment and financial planning seminars, health and wellness and special interest classes as well as more programs for older adults, he said.
“For us, watching the facility take shape is exciting,” Markillie said. “It’s an opportunity to provide for our community a truly community-based center.”
If you’re interested in becoming a member of the YMCA, you don’t have to wait until the new facility is open, Markillie said. Simply drop by the main lobby of the El Camino YMCA, which is located at 2400 Grant Road, in Mountain View, adjacent to El Camino Hospital, or call 969-9622.
