Saugus YMCA completes renovations, expansion

SAUGUS – Home improvements at the Saugus Family YMCA have been well received by members new and old.During its grand reopening Nov. 8-9 after three months of renovations and expansion, the Saugus YMCA took on 50 new members.”That’s more than we would typically do in a whole month,” said membership experience director Ashley O’Donnell. “We saw great results.”Bruce Macdonald, executive director of YMCA of Metro North – which includes Saugus and three other YMCAs – said the $250,000 renovation project included a new paint job as well as refurbishing the front lobby and fitness center.”We have $150,000 in new fitness equipment,” he said. “That was one of the areas we really wanted to reinvest in.”Although the fitness center was closed for two days, Macdonald said that most of the work was done after hours.Macdonald said a new, 12,000-square-foot building was constructed adjacent to the YMCA to house the gymnastics program and child-care center.”It’s phenomenal,” said Macdonald. “It’s one of those ?wow factor’ things.”Macdonald said both programs had been based out of the Melrose YMCA, which merged with Saugus in 2012.The new Saugus building carried a $1.4 million price tag and opened six months ago. Since then, Macdonald said the enrollment figures for youth programming at the YMCA have tripled for each eight-week session.”That’s grown from a couple hundred kids a session to a thousand kids a session,” said Chief Operating Officer Kathleen Walsh, adding that adult programming is also growing.”It’s one of the finest gymnastics centers in the state of Massachusetts,” Walsh said.In addition to gymnastics, other new programs include boot camp, obstacle training and cardio blast.Macdonald credited Walsh with getting the project moving and completed.”She truly was the one who spearheaded this thing,” he said.Walsh said that before the renovations, the Saugus YMCA had been “undiscovered in the community” as it sits on a hill and is set back from Main Street.”We wanted to make it a place of wellness for the community,” she said.