MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Milwaukee YMCA to convert Parklawn branch to program-only center

Bill Glauber

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Teenage boys work out together at Northside YMCA in Social Fitness Club, designed to work on their social skills as well as their fitness.

The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee said this week it will convert its Parklawn facility from a membership branch to a program-only center beginning Dec. 1.

The announcement means that the Milwaukee Y will no longer operate the fitness center at Parklawn and members can transfer memberships to three other facilities: Downtown, Northside or Rite-Hite.

The move is part of the Milwaukee Y's attempt to reach the community through programming and services. By 2021, the Milwaukee Y is seeking to double the number of people it reaches.

The Parklawn facility will continue to host active older adult programming, youth sports, the Feeding America meal program and the Achievers Program in career development.

“We met with stakeholders and Parklawn community members earlier this year to re-imagine our space within the community and to determine that our new program-centric focus is the key to our future in the Parklawn community,” Carrie Wall, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We plan to continue exploring partnership opportunities for program center satellite sites like this one throughout the city of Milwaukee.”

Carrie Wall, president and chief executive of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee.

The Parklawn YMCA, built in 1996, is located in a public housing community.

“The transition of the Parklawn branch into a program center is a more economically sustainable approach that will continue to offer important programs to the residents of Parklawn and the surrounding community,” said Tony Perez, secretary-executive director of the Housing Authority of Milwaukee. “We look forward to continuing to work together to enhance the health and well-being of our residents and the rest of the Parklawn neighborhood.”

The Milwaukee YMCA emerged from bankruptcy more than three years ago. During its reorganization, the Milwaukee Y sold nearly all its suburban branches and cut staff by 55%.