YMCA Move Makes Waves

March 5, 2006
Commentary By Tom Condon

I took the Y for granted. I shouldn't have.

In late October, the YMCA of Greater Hartford announced it was selling its building on the corner of Jewell and Pearl streets to Northland Investment Corp., who would build a $117 million, 18-story condominium/ apartment tower on the site.

The Y said it would keep a presence in downtown by leasing space on the second floor of Northland's Hartford 21 tower, on the site of the former Hartford Civic Center mall. The plan is to move the executive offices there, as well as the adult literacy program and part of the fitness center. There would be no basketball gym, racquetball/handball courts or swimming pool.

Belatedly, a group of Y members is fighting the closure. Bill Booker, a member, said almost 250 members have signed a petition asking the Y to reconsider the decision. They've written letters and consulted a lawyer about possible legal action. The Y and Northland have not yet signed the sale agreement, though negotiations are ongoing.

The Y had been planning changes at the downtown facility for several years, but until the fall, the plans hadn't generated much controversy. The original idea was to take down its 11-story tower building, which contains 145 dormitory-style rooms, and get out of the temporary housing business.

The reason for that is a change of clientele. The old paradigm, the young guy who needs a room while he trains in the insurance industry, has given way to many clients who suffer from mental, physical or substance abuse problems - problems that the Y is unequipped to deal with.

It's too bad, but it made sense and there weren't many arguments against it. The original plan was to consolidate in a more compact facility downtown, probably - though it hadn't been finally decided - and keeping a major fitness center. But then the Hartford real estate market heated up, and investors were - for the first time in decades - interested in land around Bushnell Park. With a presumably hefty price for the 1.3 acres on Jewell Street, the Y saw a chance to build a new facility in North Hartford and strengthen its neighborhood programs in the South End.

Tom Reynolds, the Y's vice-president for development services, said he and his staff are negotiating for use of a gym and pool in or near downtown with free parking and easy access for Y members.

He said the Y is trying to retain day care and all of its other downtown programs either at the new facility or at other sites in the city.

By selling the downtown site and expanding elsewhere, the Y figures it can serve another 4,000 to 8,000 people, Reynolds said. He said some other cities across the country have gone the same route.

The Y is a wonderful organization, one that has survived in Hartford for more than 150 years. But as those of us who remember the majestic building they demolished in the 1970s know, the Y's leadership is not immune from making a mistake.

As Booker and others see it, the downtown members, and downtown itself, are being shortchanged. Booker dismisses the new fitness center as "a row of treadmills." That's a bit of an understatement, but the new place certainly sounds more like an executive health club than a Y.

But it isn't just the pool or the gym. In a city such as Hartford that endures de facto racial segregation, the Y is one of the few places where people of all ages, races and economic means mingle together. "It's a unique melting pot," said Booker.

Bart Russell, another member, said the thought of losing "all these interactions, all these real connections" is "tearing everybody apart."

Booker wondered if building in the North End and South End would actually reinforce the city's patterns of segregation. I don't know - kids from all parts of the city go to Y programs - but it won't be the same.

I also wonder if the very bright guys at Northland wouldn't want a YMCA gym, pool and racquetball courts in their building. Indeed, with people finally moving downtown, the timing here isn't good.

For all of this, it may be too late to do anything about it. At the very least, the Y and Northland ought to have an open meeting with the membership, to lay it all out. A strong YMCA is indicative of a healthy downtown. Something significant is being lost, and a lot of people would like a better explanation of why.