South Bend approves new YMCA downtown branch, preventing major void in city's core

Jordan Smith, South Bend Tribune
·3 min read
The Memorial Leighton Healthplex, at 111 W. Jefferson Blvd., sits across from the St. Joseph County Courthouse in downtown South Bend. The YMCA of Greater Michiana will take over a fitness center in the building previously run by Beacon Health System.
The Memorial Leighton Healthplex, at 111 W. Jefferson Blvd., sits across from the St. Joseph County Courthouse in downtown South Bend. The YMCA of Greater Michiana will take over a fitness center in the building previously run by Beacon Health System.

SOUTH BEND — A month after the South Bend Redevelopment Commission passed a proposal that will spur more than $100 million of private investment on downtown's north side, the same entity voted Thursday to fill a looming void left by that deal.

The commission approved a plan, first reported by The Tribune on Tuesday, to allow the YMCA of Greater Michiana to take over the fitness center at the Memorial Leighton Healthplex, a building in the downtown core just across Main Street from the St. Joseph County Courthouse. The gym was previously run by Beacon Health System, which will turn it over to the YMCA by the end of May.

The YMCA plans to stay in the building until the end of 2032 and won't pay rent to the commission, which took ownership of the property last month. The Y will pay only one-third of the facility's utilities expenses, according to the city.

As part of a larger development deal, Beacon had agreed to pay rent for the property on the lot's south side and move out by the end of 2025. Now, the hospital system will continue using only a portion of the building for its physical rehabilitation services and office space.

"That gym space would be hard and expensive to repurpose," said Caleb Bauer, executive director of South Bend's Department of Community Investment. "So getting a gym user back in there ... we preserve downtown fitness facility access. It's a good partner, the YMCA, that wants to continue to expand their presence in South Bend."

In exchange for a rent-free space, the nonprofit has agreed to donate its 1964 building at 1201 Northside Blvd. and surrounding parcels to the city. The assessed value of the old site is $718,500, the city says. Bauer said the city will court interested developers this summer while planning to eventually demolish the site.

Mark Weber, the YMCA's CEO, said he met with Bauer more than a year ago to discuss the need to tear down the old facility. It's sat vacant since it closed in May 2020, months after the South Bend Y merged with the YMCA of Southwest Michigan and moved its local operations into the O'Brien Center.

The nonprofit opened in Michiana more than 140 years ago, Weber said. The Y's first facility in South Bend opened in 1906 at the corner of Main and Wayne streets, a block away from the new fitness center. Weber said expanding downtown allows the organization to strengthen its partnership with South Bend Venues, Parks and Arts and its youth programs in the community.

"Having a facility downtown is very critical strategically for the YMCA," Weber said Thursday. "We are a community association. We are not just a membership-based organization. To be in the heart of the community really allows us to expand our impact."

Spread across multiple floors, the new space downtown includes weight training and cardio equipment, a basketball court, an indoor track, a lap pool, and aquatic and fitness classes. The Y will use space on the second floor to run a child-watch program so adults can exercise while staffers look after their kids, according to Chief Operating Officer Denise Peters.

The Y plans to sign a new three-year agreement with the city to remain in the O'Brien Center, its fitness center at 321 E. Walter St., on the far south side of town. No major renovations are planned at that site, Peters said.

The YMCA expects to open its downtown fitness center in June, shortly after Beacon moves out. Beacon members who wish to keep working out in the space can begin a membership with the Y without any sign-up fees.

"The staff is excited about this because it keeps a quality downtown fitness option open," said Joseph Molnar, a property development manager with the city. "We know that's very important to the quality of life for not just people who live downtown, but also people who work downtown and in the surrounding neighborhoods."

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: When will YMCA open downtown South Bend fitness center