With a ceremonious toss of a shovelful of dirt, the YMCA commemorated the newest expansion underway to its facilities: a nearly 40,000-square-foot, three-level addition.
The YMCA held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Friday morning — where the future field house would be — with excavators and construction vans at work on other parts of the Oak Bluffs site. Construction officially began three weeks ago for the $32 million project.
Jill Robie-Axtell, YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard CEO, didn’t say exactly when the project would be completed, but she said there is an estimated construction window of 14 to 16 months.
Robie-Axtell said the field house will have a twelfth-of-a-mile indoor track on the top-floor perimeter. It will also expand the YMCA’s health and wellness center, alongside two more classrooms for afterschool programs, which will allow for more camp and youth programs. Additionally, there will be space for group exercise on the lower floor, which can provide more room for senior programs.
YMCA staff, board members, construction managers, and supporters gathered together to celebrate the milestone.
“It’s been a long run,” said Doug Best, a YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard board member who was at the first ribbon-cutting in 2010 for the YMCA’s original opening. “This was a part of the original plan. It’s now the icing on the cake.”
After the crowd returned inside and gathered in the YMCA teen center, Robie-Axtell gave special thanks to numerous people, including Mary Stanton, who led the fundraising campaign, and board president Steve Adamo, who highlighted this was a project for the whole Island. Of course, Robie-Axtell couldn’t forget the staff upholding the organization’s operations, some of whom grew up through the YMCA programs.
The Vineyard’s YMCA has gone through various challenges over the years, from initial resistance to the facilities before opening to being forced to temporarily shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the YMCA fundraises for roughly $1.5 million to complete the project, Robie-Axtell noted that the YMCA has become a valued location for year-round Islanders, and that she was excited to see the project coming to fruition. “It feels great,” she said. “One of the things I realized as we went through the permitting process for the Y, as rigorous as it is — we have people from all walks of life who use the Y.”
