‘Y’ breaks ground on cure for growing pains | Local News | Summerville Journal Scene

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‘Y’ breaks ground on cure for growing pains

Published Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:35 PM

By Ryan Castle
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Ryan Castle

Gary Lukridge, CEO of the Summerville Family YMCA, welcomes the crowd at the groundbreaking of The Ponds facility.

Busting at the seams in its current home, the Summerville Family YMCA broke ground this week on a new facility with hopes that it will not only provide a destination for current members, but will attract new ones as well.

The ‘Y’ broke ground Tuesday on the new facility to be located in The Ponds, a 1,950-acre community on Highway 17-A near the intersection with Dorchester Road.

Greenwood Development, the developer of The Ponds, is giving the 10.5 acres, valued at approximately $1 million, and $3 million in cash toward the construction of the facility. The rest of the money, $1.5 million, will come from a YMCA capital fund-raising drive, board president Dickie Miler said will kick-off after the Flowertown Festival in April.

“To say we are at capacity is putting it mildly. We are jammed to the gills,” Miler said at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony.

Gary Lukdridge, the YMCA’s chief executive, said not only will the new digs provide relief for current members, but will serve as a way to attract more to the YMCA’s membership rolls.

“We’ve heard some people already who say ‘maybe I’ll wait until the new facility opens,’ so we believe more will be attracted to what we offer,” Lukridge said.

The Summerville Family YMCA, with a wellness center and administrative offices on South Cedar Street and a satellite branch in Oakbrook, has more than 9,000 members.

“This is a perfect match to serve the southwest area of Summerville,” Miler said. The Ponds will not only feature a YMCA facility, but also an outdoor amphitheatre, an elementary and middle school site, a county fire and EMS station and access to the Ashley River.

“We are humbled to be the beneficiary of Greenwood Development’s generosity,” Miler said.

The Ponds is a master planned community built under a development agreement with Dorchester County, approved in 2005. County Council Chairman Larry Hargett spoke Tuesday of when The Ponds was originally considered, he didn’t believe the votes were there to approve the development.

“Only after the agreement from The Ponds with the YMCA did we get the votes on council to approve it,” said Hargett, adding that there is no other development of this magnitude in the county.

The Ponds General Manager John Morgan has reported sales are doing well so far. Homes are under construction and custom lots are for sale. Lots start in the low $100,000s and homes in the $300,000s.

Morgan believes there is nothing else like The Ponds in the Charleston area and it will become a destination development.

“We joined together with everyone to build a facility for everyone,” Morgan said of the donation to the YMCA.

As the debate continues in Dorchester County over growth, Morgan said he hopes more developers follow suit with Greenwood’s donations and voluntarily help make the county better.

The new 25,000 square-foot facility will feature:

• A wellness center with cardiovascular equipment and free weights

• Supervised playground and nursery for children

• Rooms for aerobics and other instructional programs

• A full-sized gymnasium with two full-length basketball courts

• Full service locker rooms and sauna for men, women and families

• Athletic recreation fields

• Organized sports and wellness programs for all ages

Miler says the community will start to see more visible signs of the capital campaign for the new facility after the Flowertown Festival. Corporate donations and individual donations, with membership benefits attached will be available and there will also be a gala to help raise the money.

For more information on donating to the YMCA’s capital campaign, contact Linda Walton or Gary Lukridge at 871-9622.

Contact Ryan Castle at 873-9424 ext. 216 or rcastle@journalscene.com.

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