The YMCA of Greater Waukesha County plans to open a new office and active adult wellness center in New Berlin to serve the community’s growing senior market.
Chris Becker, CEO of YMCA of Greater Waukesha County, said the new active adult wellness center at 3610 Michell Witmer Memorial Drive will be one of the first of its kind among YMCAs nationally.
Slated to open in fall 2019, the center will include a dedicated space, fitness equipment, programming and wellness services for adults age 50 and older to exercise.
The organization is entering a lease-to-own agreement to occupy 13,000 square feet on the first floor of the building for the wellness center and administrative office.
YMCA of Greater Waukesha County has 65,000 program members and has served a total of 100,000 people over the past year. About 37 percent of its membership base is 50 years old or older.
“As the YMCA of GWC has grown, we’ve made a focused effort to meet the needs of specific member segments in our communities including millennials and active families,” Becker said. “Active and aging adults have always been an important segment but our new wellness center will take our offerings to a whole new level.”
Becker anticipates the active adult wellness center becoming a model that could be replicated in the future, as the YMCA looks to serve the county’s aging population.
“It’s a bit of a challenge and we’re excited about that because it addresses some new needs and opportunities,” Becker said. “And being one of the first in the country to role this out, we will be a pilot of sorts … We want to do this really well and we’ll learn some things as we go along. We think that with the large older adult population in Waukesha County, this could scale to other locations.”
Since acquiring three branches from the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee in 2014, the YMCA of Greater Waukesha County has completed several facility expansion and renovation projects, totaling $6.5 million, and has added $3.2 million in equipment. The organization has locations in Mukwonago, Greenfield, Menomonee Falls, Waukesha and Wauwatosa.
The YMCA has made a concerted effort to attract millenials to its facilities in recent years as it faces increased competition from boutique fitness centers. With the growth of its membership and programs, the organization now needs more room for its administrative employees, Becker said.
“As our branches have grown, we’ve had to add staff to keep up with those demands,” Becker said. “That growth in the branches has squeezed out some space where we place our association staff, so we needed to better accommodate the branch needs and needed association office space.”
The organization’s administrative staff, who are currently spread out among the five full-service branches, plan to move into the New Berlin office in April 2019. It will house up to 24 employees, conference rooms and a teaching kitchen for nutrition and wellness education programs.
The two-story building at 3610 Michell Witmer Memorial Drive is owned by VJS Development Group. An Ascension Medical Group clinic occupies the second floor. It’s located near several residential facilities for seniors, and across the street from New Berlin’s new city library and other commercial and residential developments.
