The D.R. Semmes branch is currently located in space the Y owns at 903 N. St. Mary’s St., which is slated to be put up for sale after the space is vacated.

The corporate offices are now located in a 5,000-square-foot space leased from the Southwest School of Art & Craft at 1123 Navarro.

Tuesdae Knight, spokeswoman for the YMCA, says the nonprofit organization has leased the Navarro space since 2005. But, it is now prudent to close this location, she says.

“This is a very challenging time for everyone. This decision was made to ensure we are properly using YMCA funds,” Knight says. “... In order to be good stewards of YMCA funds, we have decided to merge the two locations.”

Trinity is using half of the space available in the building at 3233 St. Mary’s Street for activities and a coffee shop.

The Y is leasing the remaining 30,000 square feet. Renovations on that space began in mid-February and are expected to be completed for a June 1 move-in date.

The new facility will house corporate offices, a wellness center, rooms for group exercising as well as a child-watch area.

In addition to the relocation of the corporate office, the YMCA is relocating its downtown branch to the new building on St. Mary’s Street, a move it announced early this year. That 60,000-square-foot branch is now located at 903 St. Mary’s St. and employs 40 full- and part-time people. It, too, will be put on the market once the YMCA vacates the space.
Confronting hard times

The new location for the D.R. Semmes branch, Knight says, was part of the YMCA’s Vision 2010 strategic plan, which it launched in fall 2004. The plan calls for the organization to expand its presence in Bexar County, offer more services to more people and encourage more participation.

The strategic plan includes a $12.2 million capital campaign to build more branches and renovate some existing ones. The nonprofit has so far raised $3.4 million.

Baron Herdelin-Doherty, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio, says he doesn’t believe the current recession is to blame for the shortfall so far in the capital campaign.

“I think it’s just that there are a lot of good nonprofits out there. Some people believe in the projects we’re doing,” Herdelin-Doherty says. “So, we’ve worked with those folks and the neat thing is we’ve found other ways to make our projects happen. ...”

And, he says, the nonprofit will probably reach the halfway mark on its capital campaign goal by the end of 2010.

Herdelin-Doherty says the YMCA is realistic about the current economic atmosphere, however.

“I think we kind of knew the last quarter of ’08 that this would be a conservative year for everybody,” he says. “Obviously, we have less people using some of the programs and less people signing up to participate. But because we have new facilities, this allows us to serve more people.”

The nonprofit receives money through fund-raising efforts and from the United Way, the government, the military and membership fees. Revenue for the nonprofit was $19.5 million in 2008.
Moving forward

The YMCA plans to open two 30,000-square-foot branches in Schertz and on the city’s East Side at 5538 Walzem Road during the last quarter of this year. It also plans to complete the renovation of its Westside YMCA at 2900 Ruiz in August of this year. All three locations are being developed using money from the cities of Schertz and San Antonio set aside in past bond initiatives.

Looking ahead, Herdelin-Doherty says the YMCA’s board is working on its next strategic plan with an eye toward finding more opportunities to serve more area communities. Some areas of interest, he says, are the city’s South Side near Brooks City-Base and the city’s Northwest Side near the Highway 151/Culebra Road area.

“These are not formalized. But I know the board is very interested in those two areas, and then there are opportunities that we don’t even know about,” he says.

The YMCA of Greater San Antonio was established in 1876. Today, it serves a 10-county area through 10 branches that serve kids, families and communities with a variety of wellness and other programs.