MIDLAND, Texas — In 2023, the Midland YMCA purchased 25 acres of land near the corner of Avalon Dr. and Mockingbird Lane to renovate a building there and open it up as its second location.
On Feb. 12, leaders of the Midland YMCA shared their plans on the new facility with the Midland Development Corporation. The CEO of the Midland YMCA, Christine Bearden, led the presentation.
"We've been behind the growth for sometime now and this is the first step that we are taking to plant that seed in an area where Midland is growing," said Bearden.
The City of Midland approved a preliminary plat for the YMCA expansion in October 2023. Now, the nonprofit organization wants the MDC to step in to the conversation.
The Midland YMCA wants to start construction as soon as 2024, playing it all by ear. But it needs help with infrastructure, including things such as the nearby roads and sewer lines.
It says the infrastructure costs add up to nearly $1.6 million.
"I just feel it was responsible for our organization to seek funding if there was any opportunity," Bearden said. "But also just inform MDC of our great expansion effort."
According to the Midland YMCA, having to extend the sewer line all the way from Avalon Dr. and to rebuild the plat road, the Avalon Dr. and Mockingbird Lane roads can handle the traffic during phase 1. But, the pavement itself is not up to the City of Midland's standards.
The MDC did not make a decision on whether or not it will step in to help with the cost of city-owned infrastructure around the site.
"The way the requests from the MDC board is structured would be for the MDC to provide funding to enhance city-owned road infrastructure around the new site," MDC Executive Director Sara Harris said. "So if there were an agreement it would be between the City of Midland and the Midland Development Corporation, it would not be directly between the MDC and the YMCA."