In the 20 months since YMCA of the Inland Northwest purchased 15 acres of vacant land in Spokane's Moran Prairie neighborhood to develop a new facility, the project's scope and costs have expanded, says Alan Lesher, president and CEO of the Spokane-based nonprofit.

Information from a feasibility study and community feedback have shed light on how neighborhood residents would like to use the property, the types of services they're interested in, and the growing cost to accommodate development plans, Lesher says .

"There actually has been quite a bit of stuff going on," he says.

The YMCA is preparing to present funding opportunities for the development, even though the project is still over two years away from breaking ground.

The nonprofit is working with Chicago-based nonprofit consulting company Donor by Design Group LLC, which does business as DBD Group, for fundraising and fiscal management of the Glenrose YMCA project. A feasibility study for the project has established a new estimated cost of about $50 million, which is $10 million above the initial projected development cost, he says. 

Community outreach regarding the Glenrose YMCA has been mostly positive, Lesher says.

Lesher has presented plans for the Glenrose facility to the South Gate Neighborhood Council and the Glenrose Association, and has received feedback from three community meetings and a community survey. Additionally, a market study by Spokane-based Strategic Research Associates LLC has helped determine the sentiments of nearby residents regarding the plans.

"We had done a study back in 2016, before we purchased the Gold's Gym business, and that study told us the community is pretty excited about having a Y come up in the South Side," he says. "We wanted to refresh that study ... to see what had changed in the community and if there were any new interests."

YMCA of the Inland Northwest already has a presence on the South Hill, where the organization began leasing a 27,000-square-foot former Gold's Gym facility, at 2921 E. 57th, about 1 1/2 miles southwest of the Glenrose property. Lesher says plans for the leased space remain flexible as development of the Glenrose YMCA progresses.

"I could see if we didn't have enough space, we could have child care there, but we'd be more excited about having the child care space at the same location as everything else," Lesher explains.

In addition to the South YMCA location, the nonprofit operates three other facilities in Spokane County: Central YMCA, at 930 N. Monroe, north of downtown Spokane; North YMCA, at 10727 N. Newport Highway, north of Spokane; and Valley YMCA, at 2421 N. Discovery Place, in Spokane Valley. YMCA of the Inland Northwest was chartered in 1884 and serves about 70,000 members, according to its website. The annual budget for 2022-2023 was $19.5 million, according to information provided by the organization for the Journal's annual Largest Social-Service Nonprofits list. 

The organization has learned that some residents are interested in a design that incorporates a health care provider at the site. Others are more concerned about the facility's impact on traffic and noise in the area. And other neighbors have concerns about the aesthetics of the facility.

"The idea is to build a building and a facility that provides what the community members want," Lesher says. "We all have an opinion on what we should put in the YMCA, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's what they want in that area."

ALSC Architects PS, of Spokane, is designing the Glenrose facility. No general contractor has been selected for the development yet.

The YMCA has preliminary design plans in mind for the sloped property to allow the building to be set lower in the ground, which along with sloped roofs, and a tiered parking lot, has a potential to create a roof line that's lower than Glenrose Road, he explains.

"It will sit down into the hill, which takes away a lot of that visual impact. We can build a big building that stands out all by itself, but they don't really want that in that community. They'd like to see something that fits in a little more with the agricultural nature of the community."

Retaining the peace and charm of the natural environment is another priority for community members.

The Bauer family owned about 60 acres of farmland since the 1930s before selling 15 acres to the YMCA for $3.4 million in October 2022. Lesher says the organization has since acquired an additional 3 acres of land at the site for a total of about 18 acres for the Glenrose facility.

A portion of the remaining farmland will be conserved in its natural state, through a conservation easement on 14 acres of land west of the YMCA property, which is still owned by the Bauer family,  says Lesher.

"I think that'll be a pretty cool gift to the community," he says. "Nobody is able to access that property right now. In fact, we still farm. But the great thing about putting a Y project on there ... this is going to be a property that the community can enjoy."

South of the YMCA site, Spokane-based Paras Homes LLC has proposed the construction of a 121-lot residential development on about 27 acres of land, as previously reported in the Journal. 

Both YMCA and Paras Homes have agreed to partner on a shared stormwater system to be placed on a portion of the conserved land, he says.

"The conservation easement property is going to support the Y project where we can have accessible trails on the compound but then extend those trails across and through the conservation easement property," says Lesher.

The stormwater system will be constructed to look similar to a natural lake with native vegetation surrounding the installation and along the trails.

"It's going to fit in well with the conservation easement that's been put in play," Lesher says. "We can start monitoring the water levels at that property where all of the water that comes off Browne Mountain collects."

Recent activity at the site created a buzz about development, however, Lesher says crews were placing those monitoring wells to measure water levels caused by drainage from Browne Mountain.

"We want to make sure that everything we're doing is accommodating all of that water flow," he says. "It's not something that's normally required in a project but we felt like this was something we could do to make sure we're being a good neighbor."

The rest of this year, the YMCA will be focused on developing case materials for a capital campaign, Lesher says.

DBD Group is helping the nonprofit gauge the community's interest in supporting the development through a capital campaign. Their study has revealed strong support for a facility valued between $30 million to $35 million, he says.

The next steps to move the project forward include the development of a capital budget and extending an agreement with DBD Group for fundraising and capital campaign efforts.

Once the case materials are available, the quiet phase of the capital campaign will begin. The quiet phase is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete.

"Once we get to that point, we'll know how much money exactly we have to work with," says Lesher. "At that point, we will start officially designing the building because we don't want to spend $500,000 designing a building we're not able to support with fundraising. At that point, we would go into the community phase of the campaign."

The community phase of the capital campaign likely will last another 12 months, he says, adding, "that's 2 1/2 years out before we're even thinking of putting a shovel in the ground."

"Sometimes, I think the community would like to see the project completed much quicker," he says, laughing. "I have folks that bring their kids up to me now and ask me, 'When are you going to get the Y done?' I just love that passion."

Lesher notes that the YMCA is taking its time to develop the site while still recovering operational revenue and annual fundraising revenue.

"We've paused some of this work while we're looking at our financial operations here at the Y," he says. "Emerging from COVID, our operations have recovered a little slower than what we thought they would. We want to make sure that we're on really solid ground before we jump into any capital campaign."