YMCA of the North is ready to open its new downtown Minneapolis location at Gaviidae Common.
The six-level Douglas Dayton YMCA will open to members at 5 a.m. Friday. The $30 million project renovated what used to be mostly empty retail space in Gaviidae into the 105,000-square-foot facility.
YMCA Downtown
YMCA of the North is ready to open its new downtown Minneapolis location at Gaviidae Common.
The new Y features plenty of gym equipment like barbells, treadmills and a turf training space on the fourth level. There's also a virtual-reality machine that lets users pretend they're flying while working out their core via a $9,000 Icaros machine, and two hydromassage chairs.
Additional cardio and class workout spaces are found on the third and fifth floors. The rooftop space, which will open when the weather improves, will also have space for class workouts.
The fifth level will have the YMCA's new headquarters, which is still being touched up for employees to move into from its other facility next month. 400 employees will work at the Douglas Dayton YMCA, 200 in the corporate office space.
Parts of the new Y remain under construction. The pool on the fourth level is slated to open in February after the Super Bowl. Two new facilities in the downtown Y will open in the spring and summer: The Equity Innovation Center and George Wellbeing Center.
The Equity Innovation Center will be on the third level and will have shared public spaces, along with classes and simulations on equity, diversity and inclusion. The George Wellbeing Center, on the second level, will be a space for mental wellbeing activities like meditation, yoga and aromatherapy.
The original downtown YMCA facility at 30 S. Ninth St. will completely close later this year (its pool is still open until the new location is finished). The YMCA owns the 110,000-square-foot location and is seeking a buyer, YMCA of the North Chief Operating Officer Greg Waibel said.
The YMCA purchased part of the building at 651 Nicollet Mall and construction started on the project early last year.
The YMCA has 3,100 memberships for the Douglas Dayton facility and anticipates over 5,000 by the end of 2019. Annual memberships are $69 for adults with access to all 27 YMCA locations included.
HGA Architects was the project designer. RJM Construction was the general contractor.