Construction is officially underway on the new YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka facility in Barrie’s southeast end.
With shovels in the ground, the long-anticipated project will be located at 535 Bayview Drive, next to Sadlon Arena and across from the Park Place shopping centre. The 70,000-square-foot facility will feature a fitness centre, an indoor playground, a gymnasium, and a variety of programs for both youth and seniors.
The official groundbreaking ceremony on March 21 attracted several dignitaries, including Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, MPs John Brassard and Doug Shipley, Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin, Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke, and Jill Tettmann, president and CEO of the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
Nuttall said the new YMCA’s location is ideal, given the rapid population growth in Barrie, especially in the city’s south end.
“When the YMCA opens, we will be over 175,000 people with 100,000 of those people living in south Barrie,” he said. “I can’t wait to see the impact this new space will have on our community.”
Tettmann stated that the new YMCA will have a positive impact on the city and hopes it will serve as a place for residents to build connections.
“It’s a place for people to come and get a sense of belonging, it’s a place for people to come and be connected,” she said.
Clarke said he believes transitional housing for people will play a major role in the new facility.
“This is a critical part of our rapid re-housing program,” he said. “The transitional housing that’s going to happen in this project is key to us in Simcoe County with helping those poor youth that have stumbled.”
The YMCA shut down its original Grove Street location in mid-2020. In a long-term agreement, the City of Barrie and the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka secured a 50-year land lease for a three-acre site on Bayview Drive.
The cost of the new YMCA is projected to be nearly $70 million, with funding provided by all levels of government. The facility is set to open in fall 2027.
