A YMCA-operated recreation center may be in Rosemount’s future.
The city of Rosemount is considering a partnership with the YMCA on a proposed recreation center that would bring new athletic and fitness facilities to the city.
“We’re just having those discussions now,” said Dan Schultz, the director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. “They have operational experience with recreation facilities. … They bring a successful model to the table.”
Rosemount reached out to other potential operators but did not hear much feedback, he said. The center would likely be operated wholly by the YMCA if the partnership is solidified.
The YMCA describes the talks as “preliminary” as both sides discuss how the community’s needs could be best served, according to YMCA spokesperson Joan Schimml.
The most likely location is the northeast corner of County Road 42 and Akron Avenue. According to city documents, Rosemount is in talks with the owner and a broker for the land.
YMCA PARTNERS WITH OTHER CITIES
The YMCA has partnered with other Minnesota cities.
In Maplewood, the city partnered with the YMCA to help cover its community center’s operational costs. In White Bear Lake, the city chipped in to remodel its YMCA in return for membership discounts for residents. The cities like that the Y offers an array of programs beyond a typical gym.
A few fitness clubs in these cities have said such deals give the YMCA has an unfair advantage. YMCA counters that it has a different mission and doesn’t compete with the clubs.
Nickie Carrigan, who owns a boutique fitness club in Rosemount, said she isn’t concerned.
“I don’t see the YMCA or even any of the other fitness businesses in our community as competition in any way,” she said. “I think people just want what they want. … The (YMCA) is going to have different things.”
Schultz said he agrees; he is also a member of a fitness club in the city.
“There’s enough of a variety of interests in the community,” he said. “Everyone will be able to find their niche and will be able to be successful.”
MEETING COMMUNITY NEEDS
The proposal for a recreation center comes after years of community engagement.
In 2011, Rosemount talked about building a multipurpose facility with the YMCA and the Dakota County Technical College, but plans fizzled.
Seven years later, a recreation facility, the Hope Fieldhouse, was proposed to provide more gym space for youth, adaptive, high school and college teams in Rosemount. It will likely open in spring 2020, said Dan Corley, the fieldhouse’s founder.
After a city study in late 2018 about the necessity of a center, the responses were mainly positive, Schultz has said.
“I want to be in a community that has a high value of health and fitness,” said Carrigan, the fitness club owner. “That’s my ultimate goal.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
292 Design Group, the company selected to design the center, indicated earlier this year that the plans would include an two-court gymnasium, two indoor swimming pools, an exercise area, an indoor playground and office space.
The plan originally had a $28.9 million estimated price tag, but Schultz said design plans haven’t been finalized enough to set a cost. He said the range for financing on the project is between $25 million and $28 million.
“We’re still talking partnerships and we’re still talking about land purchases,” he said.
The project could start in 2020 or 2021, he said.