UPDATE! Feb. 15, 2013 / During ribbon cutting festivities at the Fry Family Y at 95th Street, friends of the YMCA were on hand to applaud the results of five months of construction that produced “5,300 sq. ft. of great space,” according to Dick Malone, President and CEO of the Chicago Metropolitan YMCA.
Many of the folks who attended the ground breaking last September returned for the grand tour just a few months later. The ribbon-cutting event also included visits to two pre-school/kindergarten classrooms, new family locker rooms equipped with private showers and changing areas and the spacious new family lounge that provides better viewing of the pool.
Original Post on Sept. 28, 2012
A ground breaking ceremony at the Fry Family YMCA attracted Mayor George Pradel and dozens of interested individuals from the Fry Family YMCA Board of Directors, the Chicago Metropolitan YMCA, the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and local governing bodies to 95th Street late Friday afternoon.
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During tours and festivities, groups learned about the project, planned to meet the growing needs of families. The Fry Family YMCA will undergo a 6,000 sq. ft. addition and renovations to keep pace with the changes and needs for space in Naperville.
Though the excavator arrived on Tuesday to begin clearing the area in front of the building, plenty of dirt was available for a number of official photo opportunities during the family-friendly event. In addition, parents and children also posed for photos in hard hats with special pint-sized shovels, creating another “Y memory” for members.
According to Judy Ellertson, Executive Director, the new space will offer families more privacy with the addition of a family locker room with 12 private dressing rooms. The facility also will include two new preschool classrooms to be used for licensed partial and full day preschool programs. A kindergarten afterschool program is planned for the 2013-14 school year. Current preschool programs also will be expanded along with evening and weekend classes.
The parking lot will be expanded, too.
Before groups participated in the official ground breaking, David Hanneman, Chairman of the Board of the Fry Family YMCA addressed the audience of children, parents, Y members, project managers and public officials.
“The Y does great things to bring kids up the right way,” said Hanneman. It’s always been “a great health and wellness place.”
Folks reminisced with stories about learning to swim at the Y, going to Y camps and volunteering at the Y.
Expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2013, the plans to enhance the family experience already have been in the works of more than two years.
And why?
According to Dick Malone, President of the Chicago Metropolitan YMCA, “So more and more children can have their own Y story.”
FYI: The 95th Street Center was opened in December 1995 on the south side of Naperville as a branch of the Naperville YMCA. The first expansion was completed in 2000. In fall 2005 the 95th Street Center was renamed the Fry Family YMCA.
About the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago: The Y is Chicagoland’s leading nonprofit strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Through its 25 member centers, five camps and hundreds of extension sites, the Y of Metro Chicago helps children learn and grow, teaches young people to lead, brings families closer, and encourages individual health and wellbeing. As one of the largest and oldest/most established cause-driven organizations/nonprofits in Chicago, YMCA programs impact hundreds of thousands of lives annually, helping to strengthen neighborhoods and respond to unique community needs across Chicagoland. To learn more, visit www.ymcachicago.org.
