New Business Taking Over Soon-To-Be-Closing Galowich YMCA: Joliet City Officials Review This Plan

JOLIET, IL — J0liet's zoning board will meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday to consider a proposal to turn the soon to be closing Galowich YMCA into a new scuba-related business venture.

According to city documents, Dive Right In Scuba, Inc. is requesting a zoning variation to allow an indoor and outdoor commercial recreation facility within Joliet's restricted business district at 749 Houbolt Road.

Joliet noted that the facility will be owned and managed by Dive Right In Scuba. Dive Right In Scuba has two existing locations in Plainfield and Orland Park. They offer a variety of retail, repair, and training services related to diving, as well as a swim program The Swim Advantage at the Orland Park location.

The proposal, called The Flex, will include: aquatics programming, including swimming instruction, using the existing indoor swimming pool; indoor basketball for a local youth organization called No Mercy Basketball on the existing indoor courts; retail and training areas related to scuba instruction and aquatics programming; outdoor youth sports programming on the existing outdoor athletic fields; and a leased snack bar space.

Zoning board documents indicate that the petitioner intends to partner with local youth organizations to promote youth athletics and to fully use all amenities of the existing facility.

The new business facility will support around 30 to 35 employees at full operation. Proposed hours of operation are 8 a.m.to 8 p.m. seven days per week.

There are approximately 104 off-street parking spaces, which meets the requirement for the proposed use, city zoning documents show.