It’s kind of hard to believe that it’s been 21 years since I started going to the downtown YMCA in Victoria. Part of why I had been going there for so long is that there isn’t really a good alternative in the area, but also that it offered quite a lot without really boasting about it. It had squash courts, a basketball gym, kickboxing, swimming pool, yoga and spin classes, tonnes of cardio and weight machines, stretching and resistance areas, training areas, etc etc etc.
I was excited 6 or whatever years ago when they announced they were going to move to a new location and proceed to sell their building to take action. I had noted the prominent work of the Robert Lee YMCA on Burrard in Vancouver, with a modern facility mixed with housing above it, or the joint project of the city of Kelowna with the YMCA to create the H2O centre, an impressive facility with a ton to offer folks who want to stay fit with lots of options. I understood the organization as one that was not to be underestimated.
However, nothing happened and no new location was identified; apparently they lost their president and put the search on hold, and the YMCA started a new pattern where they paid money monthly because they were leasing back the facility they previously owned. At the same time, the cost of real estate went up and inevitably their purchasing power dwindled. Meanwhile, the city pondered what to do with its downtown-ish rec centre, Crystal Pool, and there wasn’t really a discernible effort made to pool resources between the two organizations and make something special and capable for the residents of the capital.
Lots of time passed. A pandemic occurred. Years went by. The world changed. Yet we still need exercise, and not much had been announced for a long time.
Finally, last year, the downtown YMCA announced it would move into the Bay centre in the spot of the failed GoodLife Fitness gym on the top floor. While only a couple blocks away, there is something that feels really far about crossing both Blanshard and Douglas to access this location, which is on the top floor of the building and much smaller footprint. They cannot offer as much in this space.
Meanwhile, the city announced it will take over the YMCA facility on a temporary basis as it starts to dismantle the Crystal Pool and needs to offer something. While that makes the whole thing between the two facilities less bad on a temporary basis, it does leave one feeling like everyone’s blown the opportunity to make something new and better together.
In the end, the downtown YMCA was an aged facility, but a capable one. It offered little frills and delivered to the needs of the community in an exemplary way with great staff and lots of fantastic volunteers. The equipment was old, the decor was not of this millennium, the cinder blocks had been painted a thousand times, the floor was worn from decades of use… and yet it had charm. In a part of town which has no other large recreation centre, it was a nexus of health and well-being to the many residents, workers and visitors that actually spend time in the city. The facility attracted people of all ages, all backgrounds, all abilities, without being flashy or remotely trendy. Just reliable. Its charm was actually that it had no charm, no ego, just plain old-fashioned community values and service.
And to those who were a part of running it, I am thankful. I will miss the downtown YMCA on Broughton Street.
