This YMCA-Bellingham partnership still viable despite pandemic pause

A proposal to move the Whatcom Family YMCA from downtown to the Civic Athletic Complex in partnership with the city of Bellingham remains under consideration.

But progress has been delayed for several years by the COVID-19 pandemic as city officials focused on health and safety issues and the YMCA struggled to remain open amid social-distancing limits, officials told The Bellingham Herald.

“We continue to be interested in some sort of partnership. It really was COVID that got in the way,” said Nicole Oliver, director of the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department.

Oliver told The Bellingham Herald that a feasibility study is being conducted on the Civic Athletic Complex, which includes the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center; Joe Martin Field baseball stadium; the Sportsplex ice arena and indoor soccer stadium; and Civic Stadium for football and track and field.

It’s located on the southeast corner of Lakeway Drive and Lincoln Street, near Carl Cozier Elementary School, which is slated for replacement as part of a bond measure that passed in February.

“The Y and (Bellingham Public Schools) are both identified stakeholders” as part of the study, Oliver said.

“We’re doing some good analysis to enable us to make good decisions,” she said.

Located at 1256 N. State St., the four-story building that houses the Whatcom Family YMCA was built in 1908.

It housed the Hotel Henry before the YMCA moved into it in 1942.

A possible city-YMCA partnership was announced in 2018.

Bill Ziels, the Y’s executive director, told YMCA members in a July newsletter that civic leaders are working to help the Y find a new and centralized location where it can serve more people.

“Please know that we are working to find the most sustainable, affordable and accessible location for our future. Fortunately, we have individuals and leaders in our community who want to give back. These same people want to help the Y find a new home for our community. We are working alongside them to help us find a new location,” Ziels said.

Its downtown facility lacks adequate parking and it was not built to current standards that require accessibility for people with disabilities, Ziels told The Herald.

Like many businesses, the COVID closure dealt the Y a heavy blow, costing it 75% of its membership.

“We’re working hard with the city,” he told The Herald. “The partnership still makes a lot of sense.”