South Central YMCA officials are leaning toward recommending the area on the west side of the Palm Center, 5330 Griggs, as the site for a $7 million facility that could be completed by mid-2008, said Larry Hawkins, board chairman of the South Central Y.
Two other sites — the 5100 block of Scott Street and the 3300 block of Holly Hall near Texas 288 — also are being considered by the Y's board members before they hand off an official recommendation to the YMCA's Greater Houston Area board of directors in mid-October, Hawkins said to the roughly 30 people attending the public meeting held Tuesday night at the Judson Robinson Jr. Community Center, 2020 Hermann Drive.
Planning for a new facility began when the 49-year-old South Central YMCA at 3531 Wheeler Ave. was shut down in December due to low membership and structural defects.
"Right now, the board has decided that a Palm Center facility would make the best sense for the community, but if (the task force overseeing the project or the board of directors) comes back and says the site won't benefit our membership, then we're going to have to go back to the drawing board," Hawkins said.
The task force initially compiled a list of 16 potential sites, and the facility's board cut it down to three based on the cost and the amount of land that was available at the locations.
Hawkins said the three remaining sites fit the criteria, which allows the board to purchase no less than 5 acres of land at a reasonable price.
No one in attendance Tuesday night voiced opposition about the Palm Center site, but a few did mention what they wanted in the new facility.
"I have no doubt that this would be a state of the art facility, but I would caution you to not price the community out of the facility," said Darlene Hosea, a Garden Villas resident.
Hosea said she was a member of the YMCA's Downtown branch until its membership prices climbed and she decided to look elsewhere.
Majorie Jones, who lives near MacGregor Park, hopes officials and the community members will create a facility that would best serve the community.
"Some people are saying they won't support it for their own reasons, but I'm here to tell you to just put the finest facility there and they will come," she said.
Y officials said they shut down the old branch because of poor membership and the location. The average YMCA in Houston has a membership of 7,500; the South Central location had about 300 members.
Y officials said the aging facility's low membership was due to heavy traffic and a lack of parking, among other things. With the edge of Texas Southern University across the street from its side entrance and the University of Houston a few blocks away, the area wasn't accessible, they said.
"It was inefficient and it was costing a lot of money for us to maintain," Hawkins said. "That location had been in the red for the last five years."
