New Towson Y Construction Starting Late October

The Towson Family Center Y is gearing up to start its redevelopment efforts in late October.

Construction on the new Y is expected to continue for about a year, said Beverly Landis, the Towson Y's district executive director, in a statement.

According to the statement, the following changes will occur in the next few months:

• The tennis court fence will come down, and other minor site changes.
• The Chesapeake Avenue entrance to the Y's parking lot will close in about three months. Patrons are asked to use the Allegheny Avenue entrance for entering and exiting the property.
• An alternative entrance will be used at some point during construction.

Members can stay abreast of additional construction activities through the Y's Facebook page, fliers in the lobby and updates on the redevelopment web site.

The $12 million new green construction, which will be located where the tennis courts are currently, will include an 8,000 square-foot fitness center (the current one is 1,500 square feet), new multipurpose space, a climbing wall and a salt-water pool. There will also be increased parking.

The design plan was tweaked to accommodate residents who were concerned about lighting and the building's height. Residents had also filed for a public hearing on Oct. 2 at the Jefferson building concerning the project, but eventually came to an agreement with the Y and it was canceled.

The old building, an aging facility which opened in the 1960s, will evenutally be demolished. Discussions to create a new Y started about 15 years ago.