The Community Park District of La Grange Park may agree to take over the Greater La Grange YMCA after community members rallied in support of the move during several community meetings.
In May the YMCA announced the July 18 closing of its fitness center at 1100 E. 31st St., a popular spot with reportedly close to 1,000 members. It’s located near a bustling street and various popular shops, including a café.
Since that announcement, Park District leaders have said they would consider taking over the building, but only if that’s what the community wants and only if it’s cost-neutral or if it makes money.
After two public meetings last week, the district board is meeting June 9 with plans to discuss a takeover during executive session, though there is no deadline for a decision.
On Tuesday morning, Jessica Cannaday, the executive director at the Community Park District said officials are still in discussions about the proposed acquisition, but nothing has been decided yet.
“We have to get with the village and look at some different aspects that impact that area when it comes to village ordinances,” she said, singling out parking issues. “That’s one of the things we want to discuss with the village — a parking solution.”
She said Park District officials also need to work with village leaders on any potential “occupancy requirements that need to change.”
After the two community meetings, Cannaday feels like the community is broadly supportive.
“The support and the passion for it absolutely is overwhelming,” she said Saturday after a meeting at the library.
Cannaday said in the nearly 20 years since the YMCA opened in 2007 the community has grown to love the building and its services.
Nobody from the YMCA was available Saturday to speak on the issue, but Cannaday thought their decision to pull out of La Grange Park was sudden. The Park District has fields for sports activities, an outdoor gym and some fitness programs like yoga, a cardio program and ballet, but it doesn’t offer an indoor gym. In addition, the district’s indoor space for childcare programming is limited. Given the district’s needs and the community’s involvement with the YMCA, Park District leaders thought a takeover could be mutually beneficial. That would include keeping the amenities and the gym equipment currently offered by the YMCA.
But Cannaday emphasized that the takeover will only happen if taxpayers aren’t asked to foot the bill.
“It would have to run like a business,” she told the crowd Saturday at the library. “You would not want this subsided by tax dollars.”
She later stressed it only makes sense as the sort of seamless deal where the old owner essentially hands over an existing operation to a new owner. Someone in the audience asked her if the Park District might try for an indoor gym somewhere else if this deal didn’t work out, and Cannaday said they probably wouldn’t for that very reason.
“The appeal of this opportunity is, it’s a turnkey operation,” she said. “(Anything else) wouldn’t be something that would be as feasible.”
However, she did say the existing fee schedule could change and higher rates for non-residents fees could be implemented.
One drawback, Cannaday said, is that the space isn’t in perfect shape.
“We have a steam shower generator that’s been on the fritz for five years,” Cannaday said. Also, locker rooms need repairs, the roof may need work in coming years, and there has to be a mold inspection and possible remediation.
“We have all the inspection reports from YMCA which is great,” Cannaday said. “Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be any deficiencies. The HVAC was replaced in 2006 and the roof was replaced in 2006 and that’s approaching end of life, so that would be factored into the negotiations.”
Cannaday wouldn’t say what might be a deciding factor in the board’s decision and she also didn’t know exactly when that final decision will come.
“We could have the decision as early as Tuesday but there’s still a lot of factors to single,” she said.
Cannaday said she expects the board will decide something before the YMCA closes for good next month.
“We’re still evaluating financial feasibility,” she said. “If there’s any interruption to services that’s going to impact financial feasibility. Repairs would have to be done in a timely manner to not interrupt services.
“I think it’s a timing issue. If we can make the timing work that would be incredible. That’s where we’re at right now.”
So far, a lot of people are on board. With two meetings, each drawing about 50 people, Cannaday said she’s heard mostly positive things, and not just from residents.
“We’ve actually gotten a lot of support from the businesses,” she said. Cannaday pointed out that the YMCA is located in a thriving business block and it’s a good neighbor. “Having it in a very walkable area so the people who go work out can go next door and have a cup of coffee, it’s just an exciting opportunity.”
Not everyone shares that view though. Two people at the meeting spoke out against the location. One of those was Cheryl Petersen, who lives on Newberry, a street perpendicular to 31st. Newberry is a bucolic residential drive, too narrow for commercial traffic — a traffic sign warns trucks to avoid the street — and the large shady trees overhanging the street make it a popular block for gym members to park their cars. Petersen said on popular days, the whole block can be jammed in with vehicles, meaning residents can’t easily have visitors park on the street.
Moreover, the YMCA only has access to a few dozen public spots available for commercial traffic and for employees, virtually ensuring parking scarcity given the size of the membership rolls. Petersen said the location, once an office building and before that, a small manufacturing plant, was never designed for something that would attract so much traffic. The site simply isn’t big enough for cars.
“You can’t put a square peg in a round hole,” she said.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
