Hubbell offers an apartment project as a means to boost efforts to fund YMCA pool
KENT DARR May 6, 2016 | 3:43 pm
2 min read time
471 wordsAll Latest News, Business Record Insider, Real Estate and Development
Hubbell Realty Co. is planning an apartment project that will put the YMCA of Greater Des Moines $1 million closer to its goal of funding a multimillion-dollar swimming pool at the Wellmark YMCA in downtown Des Moines.
Hubbell President and CEO Rick Tollakson said the company plans to buy a lot at the north end of what would be the Wellmark YMCA swimming pool. Efforts are underway to raise an estimated $10 million for the construction of the pool, an expensive amenity that Y officials and downtown boosters believe is essential to reaching membership goals at the facility and drawing visitors to the city.
“This is just one of a number of pieces that we’re trying to put together to get this thing done,” Tollakson said.
Tollakson, who will preside over the YMCA executive board later this year, said he would not have considered building the 50-unit, five-story, $9.8 million apartment project if the YMCA did not need the money to build the pool. The apartment project also includes first-floor parking.
The Des Moines City Council will consider backing Hubbell’s application for state workforce housing tax credits when it meets Monday. By backing the request, the city also commits itself to providing financial support of a minimum of $1,000 per unit. The project would qualify for a 10-year tax abatement on property taxes. Hubbell is likely to request some level of tax increment financing as well, Tollakson said.
This is Hubbell’s second attempt at providing some level of financial support that would move the YMCA closer to obtaining the funds necessary to construct the pool.
Hubbell is under a purchase agreement to buy and develop the site of the former Riverfront YMCA near the Des Moines River on Locust Street. Negotiations to secure a development agreement with the city have moved in fits and starts. The purchase price for the former Riverfront Y site is $4.5 million.
Supporters of the pool, including Tollakson, have said they are embarrassed by missteps in securing the money necessary to build the pool, which includes a grandstand area that could be used for attendees at high-profile swimming competitions.
The chief misstep has been reliance on obtaining federal tax credits to supplement private fundraising efforts led by businessmen Jim Cownie and Bill Knapp.
The YMCA has made several moves in recent months to bolster its finances.
The Grimes YMCA closed in April. In addition, the YMCA Healthy Living Center in Clive, a joint operation with Mercy Medical Center, is not generating the kind of revenues that were projected when it was built in 2009.
The YMCA has 13 years remaining on a lease for the Clive center, and Tollakson said efforts are underway to obtain more favorable lease terms.
“It is a very expensive lease,” he said.
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