Former east-end YMCA should be turned into affordable housing, councillor says

City staff should looking into buying the former Bob Hayward YMCA on Hamilton Road east to turn it into affordable housing units for part of a subdivision already being planned on the adjacent lot, the area's city councillor says. 

"We're in the preliminary stages of subdivision planning for the former Fairmont Public School and I'd like to see if we can amalgamate the two projects to get more affordable units built," said Ward 1 Coun. Hadleigh McAlister. 

The former elementary school is ready for demolition and the 11-acre site will eventually include a park and housing. 

The YMCA shut down the Bob Hayward branch in November 2023 because of declining membership and rising maintenance and utility costs. 

"Right now, it's a vacant property. It's really a numbers game," McAllister said. "If we can get two properties which are side-by-side and have a larger project, in terms of getting more units and better density, that's what I'm trying to do." 

Getting affordable housing built wherever there is vacant land or properties is a priority for the city, he added. 

"We're really trying to increase the stock and to have more affordable options out there for people," McAllister said. "We desperately need it." 

It's important to turn the former YMCA into something useful before it rots and becomes an eyesore, he added. "There are a number of properties in Ward 1 where buildings have been left for too long and they fall into disrepair. I'm trying to pre-empt that so we can get the land, maybe re-purpose the buildings." 

McAllister wrote a letter to city hall calling on staff to review the viability of buying the Y or entering into a partnership with a private or public organisation. It will be discussed Monday at the Community and Protective Services meeting.