YMCA CEO Jason Boothe speaks about wanting to renovate the Fox building

LANCASTER - The Family YMCA of Lancaster and Fairfield County hopes to upgrade two of its buildings in the next couple of years.

CEO Jason Boothe said the Robert K. Fox Family YMCA on Sixth Avenue and the Rec Plex on East Locust Street need work. The organization would like to finish the work near the 100th anniversary of the Y's presence in Lancaster.

The 60-year-old Fox building was last renovated more than 20 years ago.

Boothe said an exact timeline and cost won't be known until architects finalize the plans. He said the cost could be $1 million or $10 million, but he expects the cost to be around $3 million to $5 million. However, Boothe said that is just is guess and not definite.

The YMCA previously received $550,000 it used to replace the dehumidifier in the swimming pool.

"We are just in the planning stages and the idea formation stage," Boothe said. "We don't have an active capital campaign right now. We're getting bids from architects to then explore how we could renovate to meet the programming needs the community has said they want."

He said the Y did a market analysis last year to determine those needs, which include more youth programming and more family-inclusive programming.

"The needs aren't really surprising," Boothe said. "They want a place that's more than just a gym and more than just a place to get swim lessons, which we are. We're a community center, for lack of a better term. People can come and have access to everything that we have."

He said the renovation could include adding an addition to the Fox building. But Boothe said he doesn't foresee that, in part because of a lack of space on the property.

He said even if the architects say the building is fine for what the Y wants to do, some aesthetics need to be improved, like new paint, signing, carpeting and the like.

As for the Rec Plex, Boothe said any work there would also probably be aesthetic, calling it a "polishing up."