Cedar Rapids partners with College Community district to support Prairie Summit YMCA

CEDAR RAPIDS — Looking to bring recreational services to the rapidly growing southwest quadrant, the Cedar Rapids City Council opted this week to support the construction of the College Community School District’s new YMCA.

Touting the benefits and cost savings of collaborating with the school district to bring attractive amenities rather than building a facility on its own, the council voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve allowing staff to negotiate a partnership agreement with the district for its new Prairie Summit YMCA. It is slated to open in early 2026.

Voters in the College Community School District last fall approved a $43 million bond referendum to fund the construction of a swimming pool and wellness center that the YMCA will operate. Construction starts this fall.

“For taxpayers, this really delivers on a promise of recreation in every quadrant,” Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said. “ … We are using taxpayer money for a very small portion of a very large amenity.”

Overall, the city commitment would cost $2.5 to $3 million.

School district Chief Financial Officer Angie Morrison said the facility would support not only students, but those living in the district’s approximately 7,000 homes in Cedar Rapids city limits.

“We are very excited about the project and the opportunities that Prairie Summit YMCA will provide to our community,” Morrison said.

The new YMCA will include:

What does the partnership include?

The partnership commits Cedar Rapids to making public infrastructure improvements and supporting the indoor walking track, which was the highest ranked amenity for older adults in a city survey released last year about the possibility of building a new community complex. This YMCA will host the largest walking track in the region.

Specifically, the city agreed to:

The school district has offered:

Community Development Director Jennifer Pratt said city staff are committed to formalizing improved coordination with YMCA for both the Prairie Summit and downtown Cedar Rapids facilities.

That arrangement also calls for:

The city is not providing ongoing financial support through this partnership, Pratt said, but rather has increased flexibility to work more in concert with the YMCA branches.

Debate over spending

Council member David Maier cast the lone vote against the partnership because he opposed spending $500,000 for naming rights to the walking track.

“The city is not in a financial position to be, what I believe, is frivolous with dollars,” Maier said. “ … It’s not going to improve the facility. It’s not going to make this walking track any more best in class.”

He said Cedar Rapids has multiple walking tracks at the downtown YMCA, Coe College, Kirkwood Community College, the Jewel & Jim Plumb Heart Center and at Collins Aerospace. Maier noted some are not currently for public use, but said perhaps the city could work with publicly-funded Kirkwood to allow residents to use its space.

But other council members, including O’Donnell, said paying $500,000 for naming rights as a signal of support for the new YMCA saves taxpayers far more money than if the city built its own recreation center in the area.

“It really is leveraging a project to the benefit of taxpayers at a very affordable rate,” O’Donnell said.

City still pursuing dual-use facility, mayor says

Cedar Rapids city officials have been exploring an intergenerational center and sports recreation complex including senior programming, offering space for older adults and youth. It was among the action items recommended in the city of Cedar Rapids’ Age-Friendly Action Plan. The Cedar Rapids City Council adopted it in 2022.

Options presented in December from a study conducted by CSL International ranged from a $48.8 million facility to a $65.5 million complex with more amenities including an aquatic center. If built, the complex would take about a decade to come to fruition and the city would have to seek private funds and ask voters to OK a bond issue.

O’Donnell told The Gazette she hoped this partnership could serve as a model as the city remains committed to exploring a dual-use facility. This partnership potentially provides a path to discuss a similar collaboration with the Cedar Rapids Community School District on such a project, she said.

“This is an opportunity for us to provide necessary services to a growing part of town,” O’Donnell said.

More space for senior programming is slated to come online by September 2025. Horizons is pursuing plans to renovate a portion of the nonprofit’s building at 819 Fifth St. SE into a $2.5 million senior center.

Council member Scott Olson said he didn’t think Cedar Rapids could “afford the world’s biggest rec center” on its own, though he clarified with The Gazette he still supports the city’s pursuit of a dual-use facility.

By partnering with the College Community district, he said the city can enhance a growing area while the district gets quality facilities for its athletes and students.

“We didn’t invest just for a track,” he said. “We invested in the concept and the track was the one item that seemed to be a good fit for a naming opportunity. … You’re really supporting the project, you just happen to have your name on the track.”

Supporting ‘an amenity for the whole community’

Council member Tyler Olson said it costs Cedar Rapids more to operate the Northwest Recreation Center, 1340 11th St. NW, than it does to support this facility.

“The value here really is the collaboration and the partnership and the ability for the city to take what is a limited amount of city-specific resources and turn it into really an amenity for the whole community,” Olson said.

Council member Ashley Vanorny said growing communities in places like the Des Moines metro often have school pools with diving towers.

“The success of our schools really matters to build a great foundational base for the health of Cedar Rapids,” Vanorny said.

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com