By Robin MacLennan
Ontario Construction News staff writer
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka announced Dec. 20 that local realtor, Peggy Hill, of the Peggy Hill Team in Barrie, Ontario, has donated $100,000 to the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka’s ‘100 Reasons Y’ capital campaign.
In recognition of her support, Peggy Hill will be the naming sponsor of the new Barrie Y’s child-minding room. To date, the campaign has raised over $5 million from community supporters, and received $2.5 million in funding from the County of Simcoe. Peggy Hill joins Napoleon and local philanthropist, Barbara Sinton, as lead donors to the ‘100 Reasons Y’ capital campaign.
“Not long ago, I was one of the families who qualified for a subsidized membership. My belief is that every family should have the same opportunities, regardless of their financial situation,” said Peggy Hill. “I am pleased to donate to the YMCA’s capital campaign. The new Community Hub will be a place where everyone belongs.”
The new Barrie Y will be located at Dunlop Street West and Bradford Streets in Barrie, and will house traditional YMCA health and fitness programs, an aquatic centre, licensed childcare, youth outreach programs, community meeting spaces, an indoor playground and a public café. In partnership with Youth Haven, the region’s only emergency shelter for homeless youth, the YMCA will build Simcoe County’s first standalone transitional housing unit for youth.
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka will also work in partnership with the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) cardiovascular and cancer programs to provide rehabilitation programs in a non-hospital setting.
“Peggy and her team have been long-time supporters of many charitable initiatives in Barrie and are truly an organization that invests time and money towards helping and serving the community,” said Rob Armstrong, CEO, YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka “We are incredibly grateful for Peggy’s generosity.”
The YMCA’s development partners have submitted a site plan to the city for review along with the functional servicing study, noise feasibility report, pedestrian wind study, planning justification study, preliminary geothermal reports, SAR Screening, TMP 1 & 2, and transportation impact study.
Construction on the new Barrie YMCA is expected to begin in the fall of 2020. It is anticipated that the new 70,000 sq. ft. facility will open in 2022.