Haverford Area, Main Line YMCA Merging

The Main Line YMCA, located off Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore near Suburban Square, will merge with the Haverford Area YMCA when construction on the new building is completed in fall 2013, according to a YMCA press release issued Monday.

The Haverford Y will be located at 891 North Eagle Road in Haverford, about 3.5 miles from the Main Line Y. (See some construction photos here.) The project is estimated at $22.5 million. The Ardmore YMCA building will be sold.

The decision to merge the two fitness centers "involved a careful analysis to determine how to best serve YMCA members and the local community," according to the press release. "The YMCA has determined that the long-term interests of the Y and its constituents are best served by a well-conceived and executed plan for transitioning the present Main Line YMCA branch to an expanded facility within the same service area."

In an interview,  John Flynn, president and CEO of the YMCA of Philadelphia & Vicinity said the organization considered various possibilities for use of the Main Line Y space, including a satellite wellness center, a corporate center and a daycare center.

"We analyzed basically all the uses we could think of for the building," Flynn said. "We came up with the conclusion that looking at all what we offer, Ardmore doesn’t meet any of those needs." He noted that the location is not ADA-accessible, changeable, or expandable by zoning.

The vast majority of members have been positive about the closing of the Y, Flynn said, likely in part due to the fact that the new Y will greatly expand the services and size of the fitness center.

The new building, a "75,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility," will include:

• An 11,000 square foot wellness center (as compared to an estimated 2,000 square foot space in Ardmore, Flynn said)
• 3 group exercise studios
• A 9,000 square foot indoor basketball court
• An indoor jogging track
• A Child Watch center
• 3 indoor pools which include a zero-depth entry family fun pool
• 5 "unique locker rooms"
• An expanded parking lot