BOISE — City and state leaders gathered Tuesday to commemorate the new YMCA facility in a groundbreaking ceremony.

The gathering marked an important milestone in the YMCA’s multiyear effort to replace its aging downtown Boise location, originally built in 1968. Now part of an expansive redevelopment project with the city, the new 109,000-square-foot YMCA, adjacent child care center and parking spaces will bring a pricetag of $80 million with an expected opening between late 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

“This community has made it possible for the next generation of Boiseans to have a facility that will provide them the opportunities that each and every one of us deserves, that we each need to thrive,” Mayor Lauren McLean said.

Local leaders in attendance focused heavily on the role that the YMCA plays in providing child care services in the Treasure Valley and throughout Idaho. The YMCA continues to be Idaho’s largest licensed childcare provider, and the announcement of the Kissler Family Early Education Center last month will only expand the YMCA’s role as a key provider of these services.

“They are the largest childcare provider, which is one of the critical things we have in the state of Idaho,” Gov. Brad Little said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “My goal from the get-go was that I want Idaho to be a place where our children will choose to stay and for those that left to choose to return.”

The facility’s $80 million cost — which includes funding from public and private partners and $35 million in direct philanthropic support — has nearly been met. An additional $5 million in funding, however, remains outstanding. To meet the funding gap, the YMCA is calling on the community to help meet the funding goal and allow for the vision in place for the new facility to be fully realized.

“The campaign is not over, we still have a significant amount of money to raise,” Meagan Ellis, YMCA’s chief development officer, said. “We have about $5 million to really build the Y that we envision.”

This vision centers around a YMCA that brings improved accessibility and expands upon the offering of the current downtown YMCA location. Expanded amenities include an indoor track, teen-specific hangout space, eGym equipment for personalized strength training and a Blue Cross of Idaho THRIVE center — designed for neurodiverse adults and children alike, David Duro, CEO of Treasure Valley YMCA, said.

“These donations allow this organization to continue going forward,” Clay Carley, YMCA Capital Campaign chair, said. “Because this building is the heart, this property is the heart of the YMCA, and it’s time for a transplant.”

A PROJECT YEARS IN THE MAKINGThe groundbreaking was a long-time coming for the downtown YMCA location. Duro previously remarked that the company began looking into relocating “in earnest” 2016. In 2017, Capital City Development Corporation began looking into the block adjacent to the YMCA as the subject of a redevelopment campaign, opening the door for the YMCA’s new location, Duro said Tuesday.

“This is a project that, as a city, we are deeply committed to seeing happen,” McLean said.

After a land exchange with the city, the new YMCA location — located directly across from the current location, on the corner of State and 10th streets — will be built alongside a parking garage and residential housing facilitated through CCDC’s redevelopment campaign and partner developers. John Brunelle, executive director of CCDC, previously said the parking garage is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

These additions, along with State Street’s redevelopment into a multi-modal transit corridor, are expected to double the monthly visitors to the downtown YMCA, from 50,000 to 100,000 members.

“They have recognized that this area, this Y, and what we’re going to do together is key to the development and future of the city of Boise in this part of town,” Duro said Tuesday.