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Palm Harbor's pride grows with Y's success

Personalized bricks that will go near the entrance of the expanding Palm Harbor YMCA are for sale at $250 each. Funds raised will benefit the $2-million renovation project.
	[Photo by Terri Bryce Reeves]

Not everyone in Palm Harbor liked the idea of a YMCA being built in their community. They had watched the Palm Harbor Senior Center struggle to survive, and they feared the same would happen if a YMCA were built next door to the senior facility on 16th Street. They weren't sure that a Y was needed or that it would get enough use.

The hammering and sawing going on at the Palm Harbor YMCA right now lays that fear to rest.

Less than three years after it opened, the YMCA is being expanded because the place is bustling with activity. The facility has 2,300 households as members, and during peak hours, people have to stand in line for equipment or work out in hallways because of the heavy use.

"We grew faster than the studies suggested we would," said Randy Nilsson, executive director of the Palm Harbor Y. "They said, 'Build it and they will come.' Well, they came."

Two things have become apparent in the time the Y has been open: Its membership reflects the growing number of young families in North Pinellas, and usage there reflects Americans' growing interest in wellness.

About 52 percent of the Palm Harbor Y's members are families - more than in other area YMCAs. These families need and demand services.

And because so many members want to use the wellness center inside the Y, the expansion under way now doubles the space for that purpose, to 5,700 square feet, with new exercise equipment and other new furnishings. The group exercise studio is being expanded, too.

The $2-million expansion, scheduled to be completed in the fall, also will add a new entrance, an atrium with casual seating and a multipurpose room.

The YMCA is seeking donations to help pay for the expansion. Donations of any size are welcome. Personalized bricks that will be used at the new entrance are on sale for $250.

For years the residents of Palm Harbor, which is a large but unincorporated area of the county, had few places to gather as a community. Now they have the library, recreation facilities, the YMCA and the former senior center, now converted to a community center, among others.

Those types of facilities provide constructive activities for residents, but also help provide the glue that holds a community together. It is no surprise that Palm Harbor residents are demonstrating more pride in their community, as well as fresh interest in self-determination.

[Last modified February 12, 2008, 22:05:26]