With the Jan. 1 grand opening of the new YMCA quickly approaching, final preparations are being executed.

“There’s been a lot of great response from the community,” Tricia Reynolds, branch executive, said. “Everybody is excited to see it.” Reynolds explained that a lot of different locations were considered for the new facility, but that the Daleville Town Center space stood out the most. The new facility will include three group exercise facilities, a wellness center, two pools, a coffee space, a basketball gym, a walking track, and a cycle studio among other things. “We first did a survey to see what the interest was and we also did a survey to see what amenities our building should have,” Reynolds said. “We built it based off of that survey and what the community wanted.” The swim teams at both Lord Botetourt High School and James River High School will be based at the facility.

“It’s a big deal for the swim teams to have that,” Brittany Madonna, marketing and communications director, said. “Membership is going really well,” Reynolds said. According to Madonna, over 250 people have already signed up for memberships. “So far, it’s going well,” Madonna said of the number of people who have signed up for membership at the new facility. “Once the building opens, we’re hoping that people will actually come in and look at the facility.” Memberships will continue to be sold at Bank of Botetourt until opening day. Hours to purchase memberships are as follows: Mondays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays from 1 to 6 p.m., Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursdays from 1 to 6 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

In addition to members, the facility also has a substantial amount of new employees. “There’s a lot of people who have applied who want to be part of it as a employee,” Reynolds said. The new facility will be run by four full-time employees and 100 part-time employees. Reynolds noted that by the end of 2019, 50 to 60 new positions will be added to the payroll in order to accommodate the new programs that will be added over the course of the first year of operation. Students at the Botetourt Technical Education Center created the sign that hangs above the front desk, as well as one that’s located on the second floor of the facility in the wellness center. In order to honor the work that the students did, Madonna said that a plaque will be placed on the wall explaining how the sign came about.