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New YMCA Opens in Charlottesville

This week the long-anticipated Brooks Family YMCA officially opens to the public. The facility kicked off a week of events with an open house over the weekend. WMRA’s Sefe Emokpae was there.

On Saturday, more than 1,000 people got their first peek at the Brooks Family YMCA. The new 80 thousand square foot facility is decked out with two pools, two basketball courts, an indoor walking track, multiple group exercise studios, and much more. Jessica Maslaney is CEO of the local Y. As she explains, the project has been 12 years in the making.

JESSICA MASLANEY: We just couldn't be more excited to actually finally arrive at this spot where we're open to the public and we are inviting people in to see the space.

The Y hosted a soft opening for founding members on Monday and a grand opening on Thursday means the doors open for good. Maslaney says the Y’s biggest benefit to the community comes from the fact that they’re mission oriented…. providing unique programs with the potential to change lives. 

MASLANEY: So we have any program from a diabetes prevention program to an adventure guides program which is family strengthening, Livestrong program, camp for cancer survivors. We have our youth sports which work on character development and all of that strengthens the foundations of community by the programs focused on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

Membership at the new Y range between a standard $54 individual rate and $86 for families.

Sefe Emokpae was a freelance journalist for WMRA from 2014 - 2017.