Bellingham

YMCA

6

Location: 
Bellingham, WA
Size: 
Client: 
YMCA of Whatcom County
Awards: 

This 1906 vintage historic brick building was originally built as an office building, and then converted to a hotel around 1920. The YMCA purchased the building in the 1940's and has occupied it since. Zervas has assisted the YMCA in many projects over the years, the most ambitious being occupancy of the previously unoccupied fourth floor. This work involved removal of load bearing columns to make large, multi-purpose areas, adding new exit stairs, enclosing existing exit ways, and installing an automatic sprinkler system throughout. All other floors are remodeled to some extent, including tripling the size of the women's locker room. Over the years the weight room has been expanded three times. The most recent project involved conversion of an adjacent single-story brick building into a new rock-climbing wall, the state's tallest at the time at 65 feet. This was accomplished by removing the roof and adding a glass enclosed structure above that houses the climbing wall. Care was taken to not damage any of the historic elements of the original building, including the elaborate cornice. Aquatic projects include converting the existing pool into a wave pool.

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