This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Local Voices

New YMCA Coming in Late 2015

The YMCA project is designed to accommodate the community's growing needs for recreational facilities.

Raphael Architects of Doylestown will serve as lead architect for the design and construction of the North Penn YMCA’s new Lansdale facility, a $6 million capital project that calls for major renovations to 26,600 square feet of existing YMCA space and 11,250 square feet of new construction.

The North Penn Y’s initiative is one portion of a challenging $27.5 million construction project that will provide affordable senior housing, a senior activity center and food pantry/soup kitchen through three other community nonprofits. The four entities, collectively called North Penn Commons, are Advanced Living Communities, The PEAK Center and Manna on Main Street, as well as the North Penn YMCA Lansdale Branch.

“Strategic collaboration among the engineers, designers and contractors for the wide-reaching project is anticipated to deliver overall engineering and design savings,” said Michael Raphael, AIA, principal.

This collaborative approach was emulated in the composition of the design team. Headed by Raphael, who also designed the Upper Bucks YMCA, the team includes Howard Kulp Architects of Allentown, assisting in design and construction documents; Penn Builders of Quakertown, serving as construction manager and consulting engineers and providing design-build project delivery services; and Atlantic Aquatic Engineers of Pipersville for pool design and construction services.

Kramer Marks Architects, Ambler, and McDonald Building Company, Blue Bell, are responsible for the non-Y portion of the North Penn Commons project as well as the lobby, which the Y will share.

“It is a pleasure to collaborate on this project with this fine team of professionals, many of whom I have worked with before,” says Raphael.

Project scope
When the new four-story campus on the former LansBowl site on East Main Street is completed in late 2015, it will feature 60 units of affordable senior housing as well as program and service facilities for The PEAK Center and Manna on Main Street. The sweeping 9,000sf communal lobby and gathering space will serve all four partners’ needs and connect to the Y’s renovated facilities.

The Y project, also scheduled for a late 2015 completion, is designed to accommodate the growing Lansdale community’s needs for recreational facilities. It will be built in consecutive phases to minimize disruption of services for the Y’s members and allow full occupancy throughout construction.

The state-of-the-art family health and wellness facility will boast 80,000sf of space: new 6-lane competition pool, multi-purpose mini-gymnasium to accommodate programs and classes, sauna and steam rooms, a whirlpool and new administrative space. The Early Childhood Education Center is the single area of the existing space that will undergo no renovations at this time.

Of special interest is the conversion of the existing lap pool into a new family-friendly, zero-entry recreation pool with slides and loads of water-park-style recreational features. It will appeal to all ages – from families enjoying time together, to swim lessons, to water aerobics and water-walking for seniors.

“While designing this facility, we considered the needs and priorities of families in particular – such as providing family locker rooms and spaces so young children can stay with their parent or parents while visiting the Y and enjoying all the facilities and programs it offers,” Raphael says.

“In addition to completely redesigning the interior, we also focused on the external appearance. The older building did not appropriately reflect the vitality and energy of the new neighboring facilities or of the community health and wellness programs within. Our redesigned exterior provides a fresh, more contemporary look that blends well with its surroundings and will complement the other facilities in the North Penn Commons complex.

“I’m pleased to be part of this great project, which marries community interests with health and fitness, two of my life-long passions. Next year, when Y members and visitors come to the Lansdale branch, this light-filled, contemporary, fresh environment will welcome them.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?