Danville YMCA making announcement Monday

The Danville Family YMCA has issued an invitation to the community to join them for “an exciting announcement” at 11 a.m. on Monday in downtown Danville at the corner of Memorial Drive at the King Memorial Bridge.

The announcement location overlooks the White Mill property, purchased by Gibbs International Inc. in July, but it could not immediately be confirmed that the YMCA will be located on a portion of the site.

The YMCA has been looking for a new location since February, when it announced it had outgrown its current location on Main Street, and had received a grant of up to $8.1 million from the Danville Regional Foundation to build a new facility.

Karl Stauber, CEO of the foundation, said it awarded the grant because the region needs to become healthier.

“A world-class YMCA is critical to building a healthier region,” Stauber said in February. “This region faces many health challenges like obesity and cardiovascular-related deaths.”

The grant is a 60-percent matching grant, which means the YMCA would have to build a facility costing $13.5 to qualify for the full grant — giving them two years to raise the remaining $5.4 million. If the facility costs less, the foundation will still contribute 60 percent, but the total grant would be reduced proportionally.

The YMCA’s CEO and executive director, Sarah Folmar, showed board members a conceptual drawing of plans in February for a $13.5 million complex on 12 acres that would include softball and soccer fields, a basketball gym, two pools and exercise, fitness and child care facilities.

In March, she said a study showed the ideal size site would be five to eight acres, and that a full-scale capital campaign would begin as soon as a site was chosen.

Parking for Monday’s announcement will be available at the new parking lot at Newton and Bridge streets. Shuttle service to the announcement site will begin at 10:30 a.m.