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Gem of a gym
By SHARON L. BOND, Neighborhood Times Business Editor
ST. PETERSBURG -- Right now, the exterior is the beauty of the historic Mediterranean Revival YMCA, which is being converted to condominiums. Even with the series of paint swatches and some of the arched windows partly boarded up, the outer skin of the 1927 structure is an elegant reminder of Florida's past. Then it was more common for buildings to have arched doorways, decorative ironwork like the Y's peacock, Spanish tile, balconies, sculptured columns and a corner tower. A year from now, the interior will be the showplace while the outside remains intact because of the building's historic designation. At the moment, however, the interior is suspended in the ether between an abandoned building and a beginning construction zone. The bones still are solid -- and walking through the building, it is easy to see what could be. The YMCA, 116 Fifth St. S, is a lot larger inside than it looks from the street because it runs so deep into its block and has a large basement. Its four floors above ground are built around a tiled courtyard that will be preserved as common space for the condo owners. The tower is on the southwest corner above the fourth floor. Its Fifth Street wall has open arches that developers plan to glass in. It will be part of the fourth-floor condominium on that corner. The roof is barrel tile, and the ends of the tiles that look down on the courtyard are closed off by small terra cotta pieces with bird motifs to keep birds from getting inside. Multicolor tile on the floor and stenciled beams of cypress in the ceiling make the lobby more than just an entry. Ceilings in much of the building are plaster and look just like the walls. Handles on the crank-case windows are bronze or brass and have an elegant curve to them. One quirk of the lobby is a tiny room near the double-door entry. Large enough for two adults, it has an arched entry and its own window looking out to Fifth Street. The equipment left in it from years ago told restoration/conversion project manager Ray Engert it was a built-in telephone booth. After little more than two months, he is smitten by the Y. "You fall in love with it. You almost want to name it," said Engert. He points out a spiral steel or iron staircase tucked away in the corner of the gymnasium, which is on the first floor. It led up to a mezzanine-type seating area for basketball game spectators. It will be reused in the southwest corner fourth-floor condominium so the owner can reach the tower above. Vestiges of raised wall in the gym suggest an elevated running track once existed. Four two-story condominiums will be built in the gym. Engert works for Ralph Bodziak, who with his brother John A. "Jack" Bodziak Jr. is designing and overseeing the creation of the Y condominiums, which are expected to be finished in a year. Jack Bodziak is the architect. His friend Gary Bennett of Cortez, in Manatee County, was looking for a project when the Y came up for sale again last year. Bodziak told him about it. Bennett bought the building for $675,000. "Once I talked to Jack about it and got the history, that's when I realized it was doable," Bennett said last week. He was standing outside the Y entrance, just under the second floor balcony with the three sets of French doors that he says will be his condo if he decides to move to St. Petersburg. Bennett said he is putting his own money in the project initially and then will get a construction loan when the units are ready for presales. He will not disclose how much his investment is or the total cost of the conversion, except to say it is several million. Bennett said he has done some rehabilitation of commercial buildings but nothing similar to the Y project. He was a legislator and lobbyist in Montana, he said, and a national lobbyist for a lottery company. He and the Bodziaks say, after structural inspections, that the concrete constructed Y is in great shape. The previous owner, Tony Amico, planned to make it his personal residence and offices before deciding to sell. Amico got rid of the asbestos in the building and also repaired some of the termite damage. Several other developers considered the Y for condos but backed off. The current ones say they can make the conversion work. "It's all there and it's solid," Bennett said of the building. "It's in great shape. It's just a matter of bringing it back to what it ought to be." Just off the lobby to the left is a room that measures 34 by 27 feet, which will be the living room of one of the two large units on the ground floor. During construction it may double as a model. The fireplace has hand-glazed, raised tiles with an Aztec motif. Workers uncovered a wide-plank wood floor with pegs, a portion of which has been restored. On one wall in a back room in this unit is a small porcelain spittoon. The other large unit on the first floor has a similar fireplace. Perhaps its most intriguing feature is the interior of the arched doorway leading to Second Avenue S. The arch is framed in large tiles depicting the natural world: buffalo, antelope, bear, wolf, eagle and moon. One shows the profile of an Indian chief with the legend circling around: Friendly Indians, Warrior. The first floor will have six condominiums, and the other three floors, three each for a total of 15. Prices are not set yet but are expected to be in the $400,000 range. A stairway off the lobby leads to the basement and the pool after tracking through two small halls and several rooms. The pool, which takes up about a third of the basement and sits under the gymnasium, is empty now but needs little more than cleaning before it can be put back into service. The Y sits on some of the highest land downtown, which is why it can have a basement. Under the pool is enough space for another story almost, according to Jack Bodziak. Pipes tunnel through to that point where the pool workings are stored. Engert calls this area the catacombs and says it is about the only spooky part of the old building. The rest of it is warm and full of memories. He said a number of the 25 or so subcontractors who have trooped through to bid on various jobs mentioned learning to swim in the Y pool. Part of the basement will be used for parking. The service tunnels that run to the sidewalk will be remade to carry cars from the street to the basement spaces, said Jack Bodziak. He expects to carve 20 to 22 spaces out of the basement and have about eight others outside where the handball courts are now.
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