Greater Marco YMCA Debuts Expanded Fitness and Welcome Center

The Greater Marco Family YMCA’s newly expanded fitness and welcome center has officially opened for business. The Y celebrated the expansion with a symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony, afterwards offering tours of the new digs.

Cindy Love, Marco Island YMCA CEO, says that the expansion will provide a more accessible entry to the Y’s campus. By the end of 2018, the YMCA will install the technology to allow members 24-hour access to the new fitness center.

“This expansion provides a more welcoming and accessible entry point to our facilities, creates permanent and more efficient space for our leadership team and adds 1,400 square feet for more indoor fitness, cardiac rehab, and additional space for our community partners,” she said. The YMCA began the process of expansion in the spring of 2017, two years after the organization debuted their 5,800 square-foot Youth Development Center. The expansion opened on schedule earlier this week, despite complications caused by Hurricane Irma.

“In spite of the hurricane, our contractor kept our building on schedule,” Love said.

The expansion to the Y’s main activities center is the most recent step in organization’s multi-year effort to complete their master plan. According to Love, the Y’s next project is a volunteer-led campaign dedicated to creating courts for pickleball, a popular sport in the area.

The fitness and welcome center commencement comes just in time for the Greater Marco Family YMCA’s 40th anniversary, which was celebrated in late January with a Black and White Gala. The theme for their 40th anniversary is gratitude.

“The Board of Directors and I are grateful to our donors, our members, our partners, our local officials, and our community members for supporting the Y as we serve over 10,000 south Collier residents from our home base on Marco to East Naples, Goodland, and Everglades City,” Love said.

For more information on the Greater Marco YMCA call 239-394-9622 or visit www.marcoymca.org.