YMCA in Boise Develops 'World Class' Facility for Community

In collaboration of the financial support from both public and private sectors, YMCA in Boise, Idaho, has completed in building a world-class facility -- a 100,000-square-foot, $13.5 million YMCA and Boise City Aquatic Center. After YMCA’s project gaining success in Boise, other northwestern YMCAs are in consideration of expanding community facilities. YMCA is hoping to raise around $2.6 million in Auburn, Wash., $5 million in Caldwell, Idaho, and $11 million in Ketchum, Idaho.

“Once it came together, the whole community embraced it wholeheartedly,?said Jim Everett, CEO of the Boise-based Treasure Valley YMCA network. “We built a world-class facility...Anybody will tell you that it has been a great thing for the community.?

“The old saying that the devil is in the details is very true because you’re talking about very specific issues in this kind of project, and it’s easy to get bogged down,?Everett said. “Somebody has to keep bringing you back to the basic objective: the community needs services; we can do this in the most cost-effective way if we collaborate.?

For this project, YMCA received financial support from various sectors: a private developer donated the land; the city donated $5 million toward construction; and Hewlett-Packard, Boise’s largest employer, donated $1.5 million ?the largest gift the company has made outside California.

“That was huge,?Everett said. “We couldn’t have pulled it off without Hewlett-Packard or without the city’s participation.?

“Quite truthfully, collaboration with the city really has made it possible here,?said Cynthia Murphy, chairwoman of the Wood River Community YMCA board of directors in Ketchum. “I think it’s such a healthy trend for communities. Collaboration, whether it be on activities or structures, makes something possible where otherwise it might not be.?