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Letter From The Executive Director
Dear Friends and Families of the Lake View YMCA,
Spring is a time for renewal, and inside your Y, that is exactly what you will see. Back in November, your Y began construction of a new 'Mazing Kids Center and Family Locker Room. In response to your feedback, and the Y's desire to be the third place for you and your family, the scope of the project was extended to include a community gathering space.
Our vision for the new 'Mazing Kids Center is to create an environment that delights and nurtures children by offering various ways to play, let off steam, relax, and explore their own potential. In an effort to be sure we could achieve this vision, we engaged Chicago Children's Museum. The museum provided an amazing team of experts, including: Louise Belmont-Skinner, Vice President of Exhibits and Design, Katie Slivovsky, Director of Exhibit Development, Beth Wilson, Manager of Early Learning Initiatives and Child Development Specialist, and Rick Garmon, an exceptional Project Manager who kept the entire project on task and on time. This team, along with your Y staff, is thrilled to present our new space to you this spring.
The second piece of the project is the complete renovation of our Family Locker Room. Our objective with the locker room is to provide a high quality experience for families as you prepare for other activities within the Y. Based on your feedback, we learned that you are looking for more places to change, more lockers, and overall more space. You will see that we have met all three of your requests, and more. We originally had five areas for families to change; our new space has eleven. Of these spaces, six are designed with a full bathroom, including shower, toilet and changing area. Five are designed as dry changing rooms. We have also more than doubled the number of lockers available by providing a combination of full length and half length lockers.
The final piece of this project is the new lobby. This lobby will include an area for stroller parking, speed lockers, if you would prefer to skip the locker room, and a combination of seating, from tables and chairs to a sofa. This space will be wi-fi enabled, staffed during open hours, and include a variety of self-service activities, from small toys to board games and books.
Construction is never without impact. I would be remiss if I did not thank our Adult Members for their patience and understanding as we redirected all of our families through the Adult Locker Rooms. Myself, along with the entire Y team, sincerely appreciate your understanding. This is the first of what we hope to have as a number of projects designed to be sure that your Y can continue to exceed your expectations. Thank you for your continued support of the work of the Y.
Yours in health,
Katy Leclair
Executive Director
