Leaders of the Chatham Park community’s development, YMCA of the Triangle, and the greater Chatham County area gathered recently to break ground on a new YMCA facility coming to Pittsboro.
The ceremony, which was held on October 12, marked the first step in construction of a 34,000 square foot facility set to be built at 120 Parkland Drive — a road not yet opened, but that will be off the Chatham Parkway Overpass north of U.S. 64.
The YMCA has long had a presence in Chatham County, but not a facility its built from the ground up and it has to itself. Its current headquarters in the county is in the Main Street Station building in downtown Pittsboro. But the Chatham chapter of the nationwide, Christian-based organization will receive a serious upgrade in what YMCA of the Triangle CEO Bruce Hamm called its future “permanent” location.
Hamm was on-site for the groundbreaking ceremony and shared some remarks about how the dirt piles there on October 12 will soon be transformed into a campus that will serve people of all ages by offering healthy lifestyle resources and a place for the community to strengthen its ties. He thanked the founders of Preston Development Company — Tim Smith and Bubba Rawls, who are also the developers of Chatham Park — for making the commitment to have YMCA as part of the footprint of the developing neighborhood.
“Tim and Bubba, your vision and your philanthropic support are making this YMCA possible,” said Hamm. “And so, every person that walks in these doors or comes to a program has you to thank.
“People need connections, they need a place to belong, and the Chatham County YMCA is that place,” he added.
Today was the groundbreaking of the state-of-the-art #ChathamParkYMCA coming early 2025! Stay tuned to watch this space transform into a 34,000-square-foot facility featuring an outdoor pool, sports space, and more to serve our community. Learn more at https://t.co/vfK2zmVdrr pic.twitter.com/NnpeBdDBAP
— Chatham Park NC (@ChathamParkNC) October 12, 2023
Concept art of the Chatham Park YMCA facility, which officially broke ground on October 12, 2023, in Pittsboro. (Photo via LS3P and Andre Johnson Architect.)
The full-service Chatham Park YMCA facility will feature several state-of-the-art amenities, according to developers and the YMCA. There will be a wellness center, group exercise studios, indoor and open-air gymnasiums, two outdoor pools with a water slide, outdoor sports programming, and multi-purpose space to host different events, guests, or programs. With all of those new elements, the building itself will allow the Chatham County chapter to expand its membership beyond the nearly 1,000 residents it already serves. Until the new facility is constructed, all programming is continuing at the Main Street location in Pittsboro.
The YMCA is just one component under development for the Chatham Park community, which is a 7,000-acre planning district to the north, east, and south of downtown Pittsboro that first broke ground in 2014. Since then, Preston Development has worked to bring the first batch of neighborhoods to market and open both businesses and apartments in the MOSAIC mixed-use community off of U.S. 15-501. In total, the entire development is expected to bring tens of thousands of new residents to Pittsboro and take decades to fully complete — although many projects, like the YMCA, will be finished before then.
“We are excited to see this [YMCA] project begin after a three-year planning process,” Smith and Rawl said in a joint statement. “This is our fourth partnership with the Y and each time the community benefits even more than we imagine. The Y will be focal point within Chatham Park and a valued amenity for everyone to enjoy.”
The Chatham Park YMCA facility’s construction is expected to be completed in late 2024. The construction is being managed by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, while the architectural services are be done by LS3P and Andre Johnson Architect.
Editor’s Note: The Preston Development Company is an advertiser with the Chapel Hill Media Group. This piece was not paid for and was originally reported by 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com’s news operations.
Photo via the Preston Development Company.
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