After weeks of deliberation, the La Grange Park Community Park District has agreed to take over operations at the YMCA fitness center in La Grange Park.
The Park District Board of Commissioners held a special meeting June 30 and voted to enter into an agreement with the YMCA and to buy their fitness equipment for up to $20,000.
The Greater La Grange YMCA announced in May they would leave their location at 1100 E. 31st Street in July. After 20 years at that location, the last day of the YMCA’s operations is July 18. The spot is popular — locals say it has close to 1,000 members — and it’s located near a bustling street and various popular shops, including a café.
The Park District does not otherwise have any indoor workout facilities and, after several community meetings, Jessica Cannaday, the executive director of the Community Park District, said the community, the YMCA and the village have all been broadly supportive of the move.
“The support and the passion for it absolutely is overwhelming,” she said in June.
On Tuesday, she praised the vote as “a very unique opportunity” for residents. She explained that the Park District had wanted to include an indoor fitness center in a recent expansion, but there was no space.
“I think that ultimately what this does is, it preserves a wellness opportunity that currently exists in the community,” she said. “Right now, the Park District isn’t able to provide this kind of a wellness opportunity. We don’t have the space for it.”
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Cannaday has said the Park District made the move after leadership made sure a takeover would be cost neutral, meaning that the facility wouldn’t be a drain on resources or require a tax hike to fund. The building is in fairly good shape and Cannaday said a site inspection showed that. However, a steam bath is out of order and needs replacement and Park District officials are still working to ensure that usage fees will cover whatever the operational costs are.
She said the tentative plan is to use the weekend after July 18 to move into the facility and then re-open Monday, July 21.
However, the move hasn’t been universally praised. Some residents have expressed concern for parking, given the popularity of the YMCA’s facilities and the fact that the building abuts a residential area with limited on-site dedicated parking. That issue still exists and Cannaday said solutions are still being sought, though some of that will come from the village.
“I believe we’re still looking into solutions on that,” she said. “It’s not just a 31st Street issue, it is a La Grange Park issue and we’ve been working with the village on that. We would continue to support the village on that.”
According to Cannaday, the board’s vote was unanimous, and it came after feasibility studies as well as the public community meetings.
“We are extremely grateful to the Greater La Grange YMCA and the Village of La Grange Park for working with us through the feasibility studies,” Cannaday said in a statement.
She said further details would be forthcoming.
“Your participation in the next weeks will be critical to the success of this endeavor,” she said.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.