YMCA approved to open new fitness center in downtown South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – The YMCA of Greater Michiana is set to establish a new presence in the heart of downtown South Bend after the city’s redevelopment commission approved it on Thursday.

The YMCA will take over the third and fourth floors of the Memorial Leighton Healthplex at 111 W. Jefferson Boulevard, where Beacon Health & Fitness South Bend currently sits.

“This actually started about a year and a half ago, Caleb Bauer and I started talking about what do we do with the Northside property. We had to shut down that facility because of age, condition, things of that nature,” said Mark Weber, CEO of YMCA of Greater Michiana. “We established a partnership with the South Bend Venue Parks & Arts to continue our mission in the community, but as we started talking we realized the opportunity that developed here with the health wins. With the Beacon Health Fitness center closing down and moving out of downtown, it made a natural fit for the y to step on in.”

The agreement outlines that the YMCA will lease the Leighton Healthplex space rent-free until Dec. 31, 2032, in exchange for transferring its old property at 1201 Northside Boulevard to the city free of charge for future redevelopment.

Operations at the new Downtown South Bend YMCA are expected to begin this summer. Members of Beacon Health & Fitness South Bend who wish to maintain access to a downtown fitness facility will receive an exclusive invitation to join the YMCA.

City of South Bend employees will be eligible for a discounted membership if they wish to join.

“Strategically this is an important milestone for the YMCA, we need to be downtown, in the heart of this community,” Weber said. “The YMCA is about community. We’re more than just a fitness center, we’re a community center, and being at the heart of the facility allows us to do programming throughout the community. Probably a good half of our work is done within the building but the other half is done out in the community.”

Beacon Health & Fitness will be giving its equipment and supplies to the new YMCA facility. And although its gym will be gone, it will maintain its medical services on the first floor of the Leighton Healthplex.

Once operational, the downtown South Bend YMCA will offer a range of amenities, including fitness equipment, courts, pools, and classes.

For membership information and updates on the opening, you can click here.

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