Shorewood's Greatest Construction Project Ever? 4 Photos, Update

SHOREWOOD — If you are driving toward Joliet coming from the west, traveling along Route 52, you probably noticed that Russ & Company has been busy, moving mounds of dirt as part of the mass grading. The $20 million construction project now underway near Walnut Trails and Wynstone Drive is the new Shorewood YMCA that will take more than a year to build.

Shorewood's first-ever YMCA is set to open in the spring of 2026.

According to the YMCA: the new 50,000-square-foot YMCA facility will feature: a wellness center, gymnasium, an eight-lane lap pool, group exercise studios, community rooms and outdoor spaces for summer camps and youth sports programs. Shorewood's YMCA will also serve as the home for the Y’s Regional Office for YMCA branches and program sites in Will and Grundy counties.

The addition of the Shorewood YMCA will mean the end of the Galowich Family YMCA on Houbolt Drive in Joliet.

“To meet the needs of the greater Joliet community and to ensure the long-term sustainability of our YMCA, we must continue to provide our members and the community with innovative and state-of-the-art facilities,” Greater Joliet Area YMCA President and CEO Katy Leclair remarked earlier this year in her press release.

“Although we are sad to be retiring the Galowich Family YMCA building, we are excited to write the next chapter of the Y’s storied history in our community as we continue to provide much-needed youth development programs at more than 50 community-based sites throughout the greater Joliet area."

Shorewood's Mayor CC DeBold has made it clear he's a huge supporter of the YMCA project.

“The Village of Shorewood is very excited to partner with the YMCA to build a new state-of-the-art recreational facility in our community,” DeBold remarked earlier this year when the project was first unveiled. “The YMCA is a well-respected organization with a strong family focus and a long history of serving the residents of Will County, making it a great partner for the Village of Shorewood. This will be a wonderful amenity for our residents and the community."