Population Boom: Ymca eyes Union growth

Charlotte.com

March 01, 2008

Rapid growth in Union County has caught the eye of the YMCA.

An official at the agency said Thursday that the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, has been interested in Union County for several years. He believes 'something's going to happen' here in 2008.

'It's important to say we have a deep interest in Union County,' said Michael DeVaul, YMCA senior vice president for organizational advancement.

Building a major YMCA facility in Union County would make sense, DeVaul said, because of the population density, especially in western Union County.

The YMCA now has a 'storefront' YMCA on Providence Road in Weddington. The nearby Siskey YMCA is on the Matthews-Weddington border.

The Siskey and Weddington YMCAs have a combined 28,000 members, and DeVaul said rising membership could make the Siskey too crowded.

'Part of it is that community (around the Siskey) is just on fire,' DeVaul said. 'We're about to go through a second wave of growth and we need to push out a little bit.'

That push, he said, will be into Union County.

'I think we're looking at all of Union County, specifically Wesley Chapel, Weddington, Stallings, that whole area,' DeVaul said. 'We understand there are people moving to that location, and we have a tendency to try to locate where the people are.'

The location of a new YMCA is still up for grabs. YMCAs usually are built on property that is donated or sold to the organization at a discount.

DeVaul said representatives from Union County towns already have approached the YMCA. Stallings Mayor Lynda Paxton told the Stallings Town Council last week that she recently had met with a YMCA official.

'I think the question for us is when is the right time, is there community buy in and investment,' DeVaul said.

The YMCA listens when communities or developers approach them ideas for how a YMCA could get there, DeVaul said.

'In the most authentic sense, the most organic way for us to grow a Y is for a community to come to us and they already have a plan,' he said.

That could mean a developer or town offering the YMCA land or communities showing they are ready to support a YMCA. DeVaul said he believes that will happen somewhere in Union County this year.

'I think one of those towns will create enough traction for something that's tangible,' he said.

The Union County town that gets a YMCA has a lot to gain, most notably a great sense of connectedness there and more community identity.

'(The YMCA) is the unifying force that brings people together,' DeVaul said. 'We start with a seed, and it's a community's job to cultivate that seed and grow a Y.'

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