With the new riverfront Winston Family YMCA up and running, the old building on the street side is coming down and the site is for sale.
Burkhalter Wrecking Inc. expects to start demolishing the 63-year-old structure at 221 Riverside Ave. in the next few weeks, pending permitting.
The YMCA of Florida’s First Coast said the tentative timeline is for demolition of the former Yates Family YMCA to start Monday and be completed by Jan. 31.
The city is reviewing a permit to demolish the two-story building, which began operating in 1953.
The new three-story Winston Family YMCA, at 72,000 square feet, is about 8,000 square feet larger.
Listing agent Carmen Mantay with NAI Hallmark Partners said she and fellow listing broker Keith Goldfaden have been fielding inquiries regarding the YMCA site.
“We are extremely pleased with the activity we’ve had so far on the property,” she said Monday.
Mantay said the property is considered attractive because of its prime walkable location at Riverside Avenue and Jackson Street within the Brooklyn neighborhood near Downtown.
The property benefits from direct access to the new $21 million YMCA and the Northbank Riverwalk while being in walking distance from corporate headquarters, restaurants, retailers and apartment buildings.
The 2-acre site is zoned CRO — community, residential and office — and is being marketed as ideal for hotel, retail, residential and mixed-use, providing views of the St. Johns River and Downtown with more than 23,000 cars a day driving by.
No asking price is listed.
“People from all over the country have shown interest in the site, including mixed-use, multifamily, hotel and retail developers. We are working with these developers to create a site plan that will work for the YMCA, the developer and the neighborhood,” Mantay said.
The YMCA said while no listing price is mentioned, the agency is considering offers that would include the construction of a 300-space parking structure that would be dedicated to the Winston Family YMCA.
The Young Men’s Christian Association of Florida’s First Coast owns the entire 4.19-acre site.
Opened Aug. 26, the Winston Family YMCA includes the Florida Blue Fitness and Wellness Center, the Newton Family Aquatic Center, the Jacksonville Jaguars Gymnasium, a spiritual wellness center and other amenities.
The YMCA is securing a vendor to open the Edna Sproull Williams Foundation Lobby café.
When the Winston Family YMCA opened, the Yates facility closed.
Burkhalter Wrecking provided demolition details to the city that said the masonry and concrete building will be demolished from top to bottom using excavators. Debris will be loaded into containers for disposal at appropriate landfills or recycling sites.
The demolition cost is listed at $185,650.
All work will be done 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and access to the site will be off of Jackson Street.
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