North Penn YMCA Gets $2.5 Million Grant For Expansion

LANSDALE, PA — The North Penn YMCA has been approved for grant funding from the state to help with its planned expansion.

The office of State Rep. Steve Malagari, a Montgomery County Democrat, announced late last week that the YMCA would be receiving $2.5 million from Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to help with the addition of a new full-size gymnasium.

"Working alongside local stakeholders, we were able to see the lack of indoor gymnasium space as well as the potential benefits of providing it for our community," Malagari said in a statement. "After writing a letter of support, detailing the benefits this project could create — including advancing many of the valuable programs already taking place at the North Penn YMCA — I'm pleased to see the state has earmarked funds to make this project a reality."

Malagari said that the funds, which Gov. Tom Tolf signed off on late last week, would help create a gym space that could be used by youth, senior citizens and young adults throughout the community, and that future uses of the space could be for basketball, pickleball and badminton, three sports that are supported by the Lansdale and North Penn communities.

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget, is a grant program that helps with the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects throughout the state.

The North Penn YMCA's Lansdale branch says that in addition to its regular memberships it also provides complimentary memberships for seventh grade students who attend school within a quarter-mile from the facility, and that the goal is to provide at-risk youth a free after-school and weekend option at a "critical point in their development."

More about the North Penn YMCA can be learned here.