One of Gary’s most anticipated developments is weeks away from opening its doors.

City and regional leaders gathered Sept. 2 to celebrate the completion of the new 70,000-square-foot YMCA on the city’s west side. The total $50 million investment in the Tolleston Opportunity Campus will bring fitness, childcare and youth programs to the Tolleston neighborhood.

The new facility is a partnership between the city, Crossroads YMCA, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana and Methodist Hospitals. It is scheduled to open to the public Sept. 28 at 1771 Taney Place, on the site of the former Tolleston Middle School.

“Our leadership team is committed to creating a culture where every person feels safe, loved, invested, motivated, and proud,” said LaShawn Brooks, executive director of the Gary YMCA, surrounded by the rest of her leadership team.

“Our passion for the community runs deep, not because Tolleston is where we work,” Brooks said. “Tolleston is more than a place where we work; it’s a community to which many of us are personally connected.”

The dream of Gary’s new YMCA began in 2022, when the Gary Common Council appropriated $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project. Additional funding came from the state of Indiana and the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation. In March 2025, city and YMCA officials unveiled plans for the 91,000-square-foot facility in the Tolleston neighborhood.

The facility includes three full-size hardwood basketball courts, an upstairs indoor track, a warm-water therapy pool with ramp access, a whirlpool, state-of-the-art strength and cardio equipment, classrooms, a wellness center, a child development center, a teaching kitchen, community gathering spaces, and a locally operated cafe, Juice Jung Cafe.

The YMCA plans to offer group exercise classes, youth and adult sports, swim lessons, and other programs.

Jay Buckmaster, CEO of Crossroads YMCA, said the project was initially expected to cost about $30 million. It ultimately grew into a $50 million investment in Gary. 

Buckmaster grew emotional as he looked around the completed facility and reflected on what the partnership had accomplished.

“The Tolleston Opportunity Campus represents a promise that every child deserves an opportunity, every family deserves the support, and every neighborhood deserves places where people feel safe, welcome, and valued,” he said. “At the Y, we know that buildings alone do not transform communities.” 

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton noted the YMCA marks a positive development for the city following a historic power outage that left some Gary residents without power for over two weeks. 

“Today we’re opening more than a building. We’re opening a new chapter of the city of Gary, and we’re doing it exactly at the right time and the right moment in history,” he said. “The storm tested Gary and Northwest Indiana, but guess what? Gary was built for this.

“This YMCA is more than a new facility; it’s a promise to invest in our future.”

Memberships are expected to cost $59 per month for families and $39 for individuals. Some services, including personal training and swim lessons, will cost extra. The YMCA’s usual $50 enrollment fee will be waived for people who sign up in September.

More than 6,000 Gary residents are already enrolled at other Crossroads YMCA locations, according to the organization. The new facility will bring youth programs, exercise classes, and childcare closer to families who have been traveling outside the city to access those services.

“We’re building a city where quality of life investments are going hand in hand with economic development investments,” Melton said. 

More information about the facility, signing up for a membership, or what programs are offered can be found at crymca.org/tollestonopportunitycampus. 

This article originally was published by Capital B, a Black-led, nonprofit local and national news organization reporting for Black communities across the country.

Editor's note: Berglund Construction in partnership with Powers & Sons Construction helped transform the former school into the Tolleston Opportunity Campus, which includes the Crossroads YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, Methodist Hospitals and a Wintrust branch. The community hub also received $10 million in READI 1.0 funding.