The Treasure Valley YMCA — commonly called the Y— has been in the heart of downtown Boise since its founding in 1891. It is located right by the Idaho State Capital and next to our school. Just a few weeks ago, they broke ground on a brand new facility that will be located across State Street from its current location. That includes an Aquatic Center, a Healthy living center, and so much more.
This new addition to Downtown Boise will be a huge change. This started out with the original vision, which was a Capital City Development Project for affordable housing, offices, and senior living, which would take over two-and-a-half blocks of downtown. The first vision was more expensive than they have in the budget, but they are starting with what they are in control with, and what can happen right now. They are currently 5 million dollars short of the budget they would want for all the facilities thy would like to include in the new building. Regardless, the original Downtown Y needed to be replaced, so they went ahead with a groundbreaking ceremony on October 29th.
The directors of the YMCA are aware that their new facility will need to include similar amenities to the ones offered in the current building – a climbing wall, fitness center, gym, pool, teen center, early childhood center, and much more. Therefore they hope to raise the remaining $5 million, that would allow them to do this, as soon as possible. There are additional plans to add an indoor track, play space, creator space, Blue Cross of Idaho center, and even a ninja course, things the current YMCA doesn’t offer.
Regardless of the shortfall in funding, the reason this project is even possible is because of a multimillion-dollar partnership with CapEd Credit Union. This partnership means that CapEd’s name and branding will a prominent part of the new YMCA. Current plans show that this new facility will be 109,000-square-feet and state-of-the-art. Allowing it to better meet the needs of the community surrounding it – including the students and staff of Boise High. Construction is estimated to take between 12-24 months, putting the opening sometime in 2026.
In the meantime, our school has lots of construction noise, debris, and closed roads to look forward too – but the payoff should be worth it. We look forward to our new Y.
