Phase 4 in YMCA Renovations Marks Facility Modernization

The Redlands YMCA has entered phase four in renovation plans to improve and expand its facilities following a cornerstone groundbreaking ceremony held Sunday, April 19. Phase four is the final phase in the Y’s efforts to modernize the facility by adding an elevator to the second floor, a demonstration kitchen, community room, private Pilates facility and expansion of their spin studio. Officials at the YMCA expressed eagerness to see the placement of the elevator before the YMCA's anniversary on May 2, and YMCA Board Chair Ken Ballou explained that the demonstration kitchen will be another notable addition to the facility, and will make the Redlands YMCA one of only a few offering such a kitchen. "We are going to have classes on the nutritional requirements for folks,” said Ballou of the demonstration kitchen's intended purpose. In total, the renovations are estimated to cost $2.7 million, but with the help of the Redlands community, 59 donors have raised $2.6 million of its funding. Char Burgess, campaign chair, was put in charge reaching out to the community to establish such funds needed for the facilities renovations. “A decision was being made whether to tear down a large part of the Y and rebuild something on this property because it would be less expensive,” Burgess said. It was a big choice the board had to come together to make. She added, “I think we made the right choice to preserve what is important to Redlands.” The project is projected to take up to six months to finish. Tovey Shultz Construction Inc. will be carrying out the construction for the Y for the next few months, starting this week. The company will carry out construction while the Y stays active. More than 100 classes have been moved in order to still provide service to the community. In celebration of reaching phase four, members of the YMCA board put together a closed event for staff and donors Sunday. The event developed on the plans for the Y in a presentation given by a few members of the board. Darwin Barnett, CEO of the YMCA of Easy Valley, spoke on the YMCA’s history. Barnett showed in a presentation the transitions the building has had dating back to its opening in 1927. He proceeded to explain the timeline of phases the Y has gone through and how its lead them to the stage of transition they’ve reached today. Following the presentation, event-goers were lead upstairs to witness Ballou and Burgess take the first swing at the demolition of the wall in the room that will in months be known as the Community Room to the public. Moving down the list of attendees, Kevin Terry and Ed Deleeuw, supervisors of Tovey Shultz, also took a good beating to the wall. The event ended with applause for the board and staff at the Redlands YMCA. [END] Cornerstone Groundbreaking - Renovation Date: 4/19/2015 Time: 4:00 p.m. Event Location: Redlands Family YMCA Address: 500 East Citrus Ave. Redlands CA 92373 Description: Ceremonial groundbreaking, YMCA celebrates final phase of renovation of their building, originally built 1927. Original article: STORY: Redlands Cornerstone Groundbreaking BYLINE: Arya Abrego PHOTOS BY: Arya Abrego PHOTOS: 7 photos PHOTO CAPTIONS: IMG_5128 Darwin Barnett stands with renovation plans. IMG_5131 Ballou speaks during boards presentation. IMG_5133 Barnett gives event goers some history on the Y. IMG_5134 Tools for demolishment of the upstairs wall. IMG_5146 Char Burgess and Ken Ballou take the first swing at the wall. IMG_5147 Kevin Terry and Ed Deleeuw are happy to take part in the destruction. IMG_5150 The board of the Redlands YMCA poses for group shot. WORD COUNT: 505 CONTACTS: Chief Executive Officer-Darwin Barnett, dbarnett@ymcaeastvalley.org, 909-335-2007 Marking Director-Dylan Haddad, dhaddad@ymcaeastvalley.org, 909-335-2007 Vice President- Char Burgess, 909-709-6607 Construction- Kevin Terry and Ed Deleeuw, 951-471-5677, info@toveyshultz.com MEMO TO EDITOR: The event was smaller. I would say about 30 people attended. It was very nice in the sense the YMCA was giving thanks to everyone that’s helped along the way. I’d love to do more events with the YMCA if they were to come up. I did not receive Ken Ballou’s information. SPIN-OFF STORIES FOUND: No spin of stories other than an expected grand opening in a few months for the newly remodeled up stairs area. ARTICLE TITLES: New Renovations to the Local YMCA, Cornerstone Groundbreakings take on major changes at the YMCA, The Communities Generosity Puts YMCA Renovations in Full Swing ARTICLE: The YMCA has entered phase four in renovation plans to improve and expand its facilities. Phase four is the final phase in the Y’s efforts to modernize the facility by adding an elevator to the second floor, demonstration kitchen, community room, private Pilates facility and expansion of their spin studio. The Y is eager for the placement of the elevator to better meet the communities’ needs before their anniversary on May 2nd. Another notable addition is the demonstration kitchen. The Redlands YMCA is one of the very few YMCA’s that are offering such service. Board Chair Ken Ballou says “We are going to have classes on the nutritional requirements for folks.” These renovations are estimated to cost 2.7 million dollars and with the help of Redlands generous community, 59 donors have helped raise 2.6 million of its funding. Char Burgess Campaign Chair was put in charge reaching out to the community to establish such funds needed for the facilities renovations. “A decision was being made whether to tear down a large part of the Y and rebuild something on this property because it would be less expensive,” Burgess says. It was a big choice the board had to come together to make. She goes on to say, “I think we made the right choice to preserve what is important to Redlands.” The project is projected to take up to six months to finish. Tovey Shultz Construction Inc. will be carrying out the construction for the Y for the next few months starting this week. The company will carry out construction while the Y stays active. 110 classes have been moved in order to still provide service to the community. The staff of the YMCA are happy to keep their doors open in spite of the small changes over the course of the construction. Tovey Shultz Construction Inc. has made it their goal to as unnoticed as possible trying to create as little inconvenience for the Y. In celebration of reaching phase four, members of the YMCA board put together a closed event for staff and donors. The event developed on the plans for the Y in a presentation given by a few members of the board. Darwin Barnett, YMCA of Easy Valley CEO gave the event goers knowledge on the YMCA’s history. Barnett showed in the presentation the transitions the building has had dating back to its opening in 1927. He proceeded to explain the timeline of phases the Y has gone through and how its lead them to the stage of transition they’ve reached today. Following the presentation, event goers were lead upstairs to witness Board Chair Ken Ballou and Campaign Chair Char Burgess take the first swing at the demolition of the wall in the room that will in months be known as the Community Room to the public. Moving down the list of attendees, Kevin Terry and Ed Deleeuw, supervisors of Tovey Shultz also took a good beating to the wall. The event ended with roaring applause for the board and staff at the Redlands YMCA.