A YMCA could be coming to the Carolina Forest community.
YMCA of Coastal Carolina Executive Director David Byrd updated area residents on the effort at a meeting of the Carolina Forest Civic Association on Wednesday, March 19.
The estimated $20 million standalone YMCA facility would be located on a 21.32-acre tract of land at the corner of River Oaks Drive and Augusta Plantation Drive. Byrd said the effort, if successful, will take about four years to complete.
Byrd said the nonprofit organization is preparing for a fundraising drive, and would seek local and state grants to assist with the costs. Revenue streams would be created through membership and program fees, and ongoing contributions.
He said the YMCA would need to raise about 80% of its $20 million goal for construction to proceed. Preliminary design work is underway, and a local advisory board has been formed to assist with planning programming, which would include healthy living and youth programs, swim lessons, chronic disease programs and other health and wellness programming.
The facility would include a gymnasium, locker rooms, exercise equipment, a walking track, pickleball courts and a natatorium with an olympic-size swimming pool that could attract large swim meets, giving the project a tourism component, Byrd said.
Space for activities, programs and meetings would also be provided, as well as child-care services and possibly a pre-school.
The property was purchased by Tidelands Health, the YMCA鈥檚 health system partner, for $5.3 million in 2022.
鈥淧lanning for this site, which will include the YMCA and other medical offices, is still in the early stages,鈥 Dawn Bryant, Tidelands鈥 senior communications strategist, said in an email.
Tidelands would conduct health fairs, educational seminars and other health-related programs at the YMCA.
Byrd said the five primary areas of focus of the YMCA will be community health, mental health, college and career readiness, pre-school education and water safety.
Byrd said the goal is to 鈥渃o-exist and complement the local community鈥 rather than compete with other facilities.
Tricia Harrison, center executive director for the Carolina Forest effort, said that YMCA programs are already being planned for the senior center in Carolina Forest and will be implemented before any new facility is constructed.
Jordan Henderson, a YMCA swimming instructor and Carolina Forest High School student, described how joining a local YMCA swim team helped him make the high school swim team and qualify for the state swim meet.
鈥淚t gives kids confidence and helps them make friends,鈥 he said.
A woman in the audience described how YMCA facilities allowed her to use exercises she learned at physical therapy to work out on her own and help speed her recovery from a serious injury.
Byrd said he is eager to bring YMCA programming to the growing Carolina Forest area, and described himself as the 鈥渃hief encouragement officer.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 fired up about what we can do here,鈥 he said.
A question and answer session followed the presentation, with most of the inquiries centered on planning issues, and potential impacts on nearby neighborhoods.
Horry County Councilman Dennis DiSabato, who represents Carolina Forest in County Council District 3 and is chairman of the YMCA鈥檚 Carolina Forest Advisory Board, fielded questions from residents about everything from traffic, clearcutting and buffer zones to the potential for light and noise pollution.
DiSabato said he shares community concerns about clearcutting, but that decision was made long ago when the tract of land where the YMCA would be built was zoned for commercial use.
Responding to concerns about traffic, he said the project would not be built until after planned road improvements are completed, including the widening of River Oaks Drive.
Ingress and egress from the YMCA and medical complex would not be through adjoining neighborhoods, and the YMCA and Tidelands medical offices would share a parking lot, reducing the number of spaces that will be needed.
As for noise and light pollution, DiSabato said all required studies would be conducted as part of the development process, and all issues would be addressed.
He said he would push for expansive wooded buffers between the buildings and the neighborhoods during the planning process.
Byrd said no outdoor sports fields would be included in the project, but the pre-school would have an outdoor playground as required under state law.
The facility would not be open around-the-clock. Hours would be from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays with shorter hours on Sundays.
鈥淚 promise you, we鈥檙e not here just to jam something down your throat,鈥 DiSabato said told the crowd of about 75 residents. "This project is about putting in something that can be a crown jewel for the community that you can be proud of. That you're going to want to utilize, and your kids are going to want to utilize.
"It鈥檚 going to provide a good service to the community, and at no taxpayer expense, by the way,鈥 he added.
Another informational session will be held at 6 p.m. April 9 in the conference room at the rear of the South Atlantic Bank at 3990 River Oaks Drive.
YMCA of Coastal Carolina serves Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties, providing programming at nine locations, including full-service YMCAs in Georgetown, Pawleys Island and Myrtle Beach.
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