In Muncie, Reimagining ‘The Y’ for the Needs of Gen Z and Beyond May 28, 2024

Founded in 1844 in London in response to social challenges brought on by the industrial revolution, YMCA was established as a refuge where young men working long hours in squalid conditions and living in dilapidated tenements could gather for fellowship and support. The concept quickly took off – including in the United States – with YMCAs expanding to serve all community members and bridging gaps in the social safety net by providing affordable housing, vocational courses, and English as a Second Language classes, along with a broad range of programming and services centered around health and wellness.

It’s this history of responding to local needs with solutions that strengthen the foundations of communities that helps explain the vision of the YMCA of Muncie (the Y), which is developing a new, 73,000-square-foot recreation center and community hub that will enable the nonprofit to further enhance the quality of life in the east central Indiana city.

The $31 million facility will include traditional YMCA amenities – such as a competitive aquatics center, a weight room, and gymnasium – as well as dedicated spaces for a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that will provide pediatric care, primary care, and behavioral health services to more than 11,000 patients annually; a broad continuum of youth services; and workforce development programming designed to equip members of the community with the knowledge and skills needed to secure sustainable employment. All told, the project will create 65 new full-time equivalent jobs with benefits and 80 part-time positions to support workforce development programming.

“This is a special place, with so many people committed to the community, but we’ve experienced some challenges and hardships in Muncie as manufacturing jobs have left the region,” says Chad Zaucha, president and CEO of the YMCA of Muncie. “The Y has been here for more than 145 years, adapting and adjusting to meet whatever the most pressing needs are in the community, and this new facility is going to allow us to evolve again to provide new services and to deliver existing programs at a deeper level to help position Muncie for its next chapter.”

A once thriving city buoyed by multiple factories, Muncie was deeply impacted when rapid deindustrialization that began in the early 1970s resulted in plant closures – and then again when the Great Recession came in 2007. Long-time residents who came from generations of factory workers left the area in droves, resulting in the loss of more than 16 percent of the region’s population in the last 50 years. The impact of these losses has been exacerbated by disinvestment, segregation, and rising poverty rates – all of which point to the need for paradigm-shifting investments in the community’s future like the Y’s new facility.

Once complete early next year, the building will serve as an anchor for the revitalization of the city’s downtown, where additional investments in housing and other community assets are planned, and contribute to a comprehensive development plan called TogetherDM that’s designed to create upward mobility for residents in the region. So, too, will it provide new opportunities for young people in the area to reach their full potential. Toward that end, the Y’s facility will be located on the campus of Muncie Central High School, providing easy access to young people who can most benefit from the services and activities offered in the building. The facility’s location is also a value add for the Y and the school, which will share the aquatics center to diffuse the cost of operating the state-of-the-art space.

Beyond its close relationship with the school, the Y will leverage several partnerships in pursuit of multigenerational impact in the new facility. Organizations that will work in the building include Open Door Health Services, which will operate the FQHC; Ball State University’s Healthy Lifestyle Center, which will offer chronic disease prevention programs; TeenWorks, a youth services nonprofit that empowers young people to achieve excellence in the community, in college, and in careers; and the Muncie Area Career Center (MACC), which offers career and technical education to prepare high school students and adults learners for college and careers. As a result of the partnership between the Y, Muncie Community Schools, and MACC, approximately 80 high school students enrolled in the organization’s career development classes will have the opportunity to gain direct work experience with part-time jobs at the Y.

“We started down the path to this new facility more than seven years ago, and the conversation at that point was mostly about the YMCA needing to do something different to remain relevant and meet the needs of the community,” explains Zaucha. “Over time, this project has become a true community effort, with a lot of local entities coming together to create a space that will provide a full continuum of youth development, workforce development, and healthy living resources on one campus. What we’re hoping to see is this investment creating additional investments in the area, with each small win over time leading to big impact.”

To realize its vision for a multifaceted community center that offers a continuum of services to catalyze positive change in the Muncie area, the Y has secured funding and financing from a diverse group of sources while conducting a capital campaign. IFF is providing a $4 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation, with Southside Community Optimal Redevelopment Enterprise (SCORE) and PNC Bank also providing allocations (PNC also serves as the NMTC investor). Additional capital for the project is being provided by First Merchants Bank, Muncie Community Schools, Indiana University Health Foundation, Ball Brother’s Foundation, George and Frances Ball Foundation, Ed and Virginia Ball Foundation, Muncie & Delaware County Community Foundation, READi 1.0, and the City of Muncie. 

After breaking ground last July, the new facility is rapidly taking shape and is on track to open early in 2025. When it does, members of the community will be welcomed into visually impressive spaces filled with natural light. In the aquatics center, not only will there be a competition-sized pool, but also a warm water therapy pool to be used for new programs like arthritis management for older adults. An entire wing of the facility will be dedicated to youth services, creating a secure space in the building solely focused on supporting Muncie’s young people.

Designed by Elevatus Architecture and built by Weigand Construction, the facility will also feature ample multipurpose space so that the Y and its partners can optimize the programs and services offered in the building for years to come. That’s welcome news to the Y, which has been constrained in recent years by facilities designed for a different era and service offerings that are no longer priorities. By developing the new facility, the organization will be able to consolidate its operations in two aging facilities into one state-of-the-start space – both enhancing community members’ experiences and saving money on operating costs.

“This building is really a 180 from our previous facilities, and particularly our old downtown location, which had very few windows and little space that could be repurposed for different uses,” says Zaucha. “It’s really exciting to know that this will be a facility that has something for everyone in the community, and that it’s going to be a tool that helps us carry out our mission by providing a bright, open, welcoming, and adaptive space where we can continue to evolve with the environment around us for many years to come.”

Learn about additional projects in Indiana financed by IFF