Sewickley Valley YMCA Wellness Center renovation project complete

Vince DeBona has made coming to the Sewickley Valley YMCA part of his routine several days a week for more than three decades.

The 70-year-old Ambridge man believes staying active is key to healthy living.

DeBone loves the amenities and the people at the Sewickley Y.

He said the equipment may change, but the relationships built with the staff and members remain strong.

“They stay up with what people need,” DeBona said.

One of the areas he and many of the estimated 10,000 members use is its Wellness Center.

It features basketball courts, cardio and free-weight workout spaces as well as a walking/running track.

The estimated 3,500-square-foot center recently went through a major renovation project.

Changes done

Crews from McKeesport-based TBI Contracting replaced the windows around its track with larger ones and installed a new roof.

Solid steel doors by the corners of the center were also replaced with ones with windows.

“It needed it,” DeBona said. “Plus, the roof was leaking. I think it was a necessary upgrade, so they killed two birds with one stone. Aesthetically, I think it looks nicer, but functionally it’s better.”

The estimated $650,000 project began May 22.

YMCA Chief Executive Officer Trish Hooper said engineering evaluations and some modifications pushed the projected four-month project into the holiday season with most of the work done before Christmas.

She said the project remained within budget despite the adjustments and delays.

“With any project, when you start it you want to make sure you’re doing it the right way,” Hooper said. “As we were building the new roof, we wanted to make sure structurally everything was tying in properly. We had a couple of pauses along the way so that we could check back in with engineers and make sure the way that we had imagined the roof tying in was going to work.

“In the end, we wanted to make sure that it was something everyone was going to be really happy with, and it was going to be a really great space for our members. … The contractors were great to work with. They had some ideas along the way that helped make up some of those cost changes.”

An the interior wall by the walking track was redone with high-quality drywall instead of maintaining more exposed brick.

The center’s previous look featured multiple windows that also served as a roof around the track to draw in as much natural light as possible. It was constructed in the 1990s.

Overtime, there have been multiple leaks and it has become very difficult to keep all the windows clean.

“We really didn’t lose any of the daylight even though we put a roof over the track,” Hooper said of the renovations. “The benefit of the roof is we’re able to prevent any future leaks or moisture in the space.”

The Y then replaced 35 pieces of cardio equipment and 12 pieces of strength training equipment early this year once the inside work was done.

The equipment replacement was about $130,000 and was separate from the renovations.

More reaction

DeBona is not the only member whose workouts were reinvigorated by the renovation.

Joanne Hattrup of Franklin Park has been a member since 2019.

She said she gets a more uplifting feel at the center, particularly when she is walking the track.

“I like all the windows (and) I like being able to see nature while I’m exercising,” Hattrup said. “It’s very uplifting, particularly the sky and the silhouette of the branches (and) on cloudy days, the clouds. It does a lot for me. It’s very fresh-looking. Before you couldn’t see out of it.”

The Wellness Center is about 3,500 square feet. It was open during construction.

Center director Adriane Stoner said a majority of members maintained their workout routines while a few held off returning until the project was complete.

“We could still use the gym to program classes,” Stoner said. “The track was closed. That was, I think, the majority of the inconvenience.

“I give such credit to our members. We were teaching classes and members were participating around drilling, hammering, open windows at points where it was cold in here. … Everything that comes along with construction.”

Stoner has worked at the Y for 32 years. She said there has been a lot of positive feedback about the project, and the reconstruction makes the center feel brand new.

“(Members) feel like their investment in the Y mattered because we were investing in the Y to make their experience that much better for them,” Stoner said.

She also commended her staff for how they worked and made adjustments during construction.

The main roof of the Wellness Center over the basketball courts and equipment was redone between 2016 and 2017 and is not part of the reconstruction project.

Another project

The Wellness Center is not the only construction project at the Y.

It broke ground earlier this year on a 2,500-square-foot addition between the center at the Y’s main entrance.

TBI Contracting was commissioned for the estimated five-month project at about $550,000.

Hooper said the new space will be for various healthy aging programs.

Cost is being covered through donations.

The area was previously used as a patio and play space for children’s programs.

YMCA hours of operation are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

More information about the club is available at sewickleyymca.org.