Commission still working on new Next building
By Mark H. Stowers
After a city commission workshop and regular meeting on Monday, September 9, no consensus was reached for a request for proposal (RFP) to build a new building to replace the YMCA building for use by Next, the city's nonprofit for residents 50-plus.
The commission had previously voted to tear down the existing structure and rebuild on the property.
City manager Jana Ecker brought forth and explained two possible options. Option A would be phased construction of a 53,300 square foot building with a large portion dedicated to Next. This would require bond financing of $23.5 million for 30 years with debt service payments of $1.3 million annually. This option would be a fully funded and have a full turnkey build out for Next. Next would then pick up the building operating costs of $236,000 annually and the city would pay $20,000 annually for operating costs.
Phase II of Option A would include 9,000 square feet plus a pool for the YMCA. The construction of the space and pool would be funded by the YMCA. The estimated capital funding would be $11 million dollars and the $141,000 annual operating costs would be paid for by the YMCA. There would be a new long-term lease signed by both NEXT and the YMCA. The YMCA would fundraise for their part of the costs of Phase II.
“They don’t have the ability to come in with $11 million dollars in hand and would have to fundraise,” Ecker said.
Option B would be the construction of a 36,000 square foot building that would be fully funded and turnkey to build out for Next and city government use, but does not include space for involvement of the YMCA. This would have a bond financing of $21.5 million over 30 years with a debt payment of $1.2 million annually. The building operating costs would be paid for by Next and would be around $250,000 per year. There would be a long-term lease with Next.
The 36,000 square foot building would have a smaller lobby and locker rooms and three pickleball courts as opposed to four. There would be two fewer multi-purpose rooms and the dining room adjacent to the kitchen would be eliminated.
Ecker noted “there are other options if somebody wants to bring them forward. We have run cost models for many different options.”
Cris Braun, Next Executive Director, explained that since 2014, membership has consistently grown 13 percent annually from 923 to 2,300 members currently. She projected that member growth would increase to 4,200 in the next five years. She attributed the growth to several factors including the name change, added hours and improved programming in both enrichment and quality. She also explained in a slide presentation that actual visits are the key to use determination for the space, and in the last 10 years, use has increased by 30 percent. Current weekly visits are now 2,250, equating to 117,000 visits per year.
Next has been serving the Birmingham community for more than 45 years and offers an average of 230 events each month that include life-long learning and enrichment opportunities as well as art and fitness classes. There are also travel trips and other creative ways to gather and socialize.
She explained that Next will “adjust membership rates for partnering communities and the surrounding ‘non-resident’ communities. We’re also in a conversation with the schools. We signed a memorandum of understanding last spring saying that we would need to extend at Midvale until 2026” where Next currently operates.
The school district is working out details on their end before extending.
Braun is looking to increase revenue for Next through increased membership, increase fee-based programs, is seeking to pursue partnerships with organizations as Henry Ford Health and Oakland University. She’s also pursuing sponsorships to support programs and services. She would also like to create a program to provide community room rentals.
Next is also looking to increase support service staff, increase outreach through non-traditional means, partner with city departments to support senior services such as police, fire, the Birmingham Shopping District (BSD), the Baldwin Public Library and others. She said she would also like to partner with faith-based organization which share many of the same residents as Next. Braun is working to raise awareness and would like to increase marketing plans to promote the building as a community asset.
There are plans to utilize communication channels to more effectively reach residents and become an integral part of the city and the other municipalities Next serves to present at staff meetings and meetings with police and fire as well as regular public reporting.
YMCA Executive Director Parrish Underwood explained that the organization is “grateful to be part of the possible partnership.” He then explained that he sees two scenarios.
“One, locally, YMCA Metropolitan Detroit has been around, next week will be 172 years. We’ve served this community through our Birmingham location for 60 years and our mission has not changed,” Underwood explained.
The YMCA has 3,700 members covering 1,900 households, with over 560 of those in Birmingham. Of that membership, more than a third are over the age of 50, he said.
“Just like Next, we pull from all the surrounding communities but we’re Birmingham-born, Birmingham-bred and Birmingham-based and Birmingham-sourced,” Underwood said.
He explained that the YMCA generates about $2.1 million in revenues but spends all of it. Their most recent budget shows a negative balance of $300,000. The YMCA is still climbing out of a financial hole created during Covid. He said they have climbed back to 92 percent of their pre-pandemic membership number. However, the current building has been kept together with “bubble gum and scotch tape.”
The YMCA has asked for 13,300 square feet in the new building, with a majority of that being wellness space, such as a fitness facility.
“Then there’s another 4,500 square feet for our natatorium/pool,” he said. “I have to tell you, a newer building, an efficient building, will allow us to be better and do better.”
He said the pool is integral to the YMCA as it helps with kids programming, including the Birmingham Blue Dolphins – a competitive swim team. They also offer water therapy and exercise. In looking at the $11 million dollar price tag, Underwood said, “We don’t have the ability and the board doesn’t have the desire to take on long-term debt. Anything we do with a new building and renovating more square footage has to be fundraised. We’ve begun having those conversations and we’ve hired a fundraising council to help us determine the feasibility and set a program in place. But we need time to make that happen.”
By working in phases, it would create an opportunity to mitigate the risk on both sides, he explained. “The idea of phasing keeps the project moving and allows us time to raise the dollars,” he said. “We would also ask that we have a long-term lease agreement.”
Commissioner Clinton Baller pointed out, “Voters are going to make the decision. The decision we have to make is to come up with a plan that voters are willing to buy and what we think our voters will approve. Unless we go for a bond issue without voter approval, which is possible, we might not fare well in the next election. I would like to see more detail about the space requirement – a detailed breakdown.”
He also said he wanted to make sure that “building a significant community resource, I want to make sure we need that resource and that there aren’t resources that already exist that may be underutilized. In the past, the schools have allowed us to use their four pools. We need to answer a lot more questions before we build a fifth pool.”
Baller later clarified that the school system has five pools total. “Are those pools a community resource?” he said.
Braun added that the schools are looking into which of their pools could possibly be used for Next classes.
Commissioner Andrew Haig stated that he doesn’t have a problem with any empty space in the building if the YMCA portion doesn’t work out.
“We could do something for the police department and we can have a phenomenal setup for them. I have zero worries about empty space. We have a functional use for it,” Haig said.
He did have issues with creating a two-party partner ownership.
“When two parties put money into a building, how does that work?” he said. “I don’t understand it and I don’t like it either. If the idea is we pay the $30 million dollars ourselves, I think yes, we do it and come to an agreement with the YMCA on a long-term lease partnership. It would relieve them of the fundraising burdens. That’s a gigantic ask. We can probably do better, but then we have a programming proposal that’s implementable on day one with no waiting. And we have a community center.”
An Option D was discussed where the city would build a 53,500 square foot building using a $32 million dollar bond and the YMCA would pay the equivalent of all the operating costs for the entire building as “their skin in the game.”
Ecker will continue meetings with all involved parties to further carve the ideas into something that works for the city, Next, the YMCA and the Birmingham community. Federal grants and other monies are being sought for the project as well. The first city commission meeting on Monday, October 7, will have more information on the design and usage plans as well as plans that could include the Y, and financing.
