Poughkeepsie Seeking Proposals For Former YMCA

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — The City of Poughkeepsie, which recently took ownership of the long-vacant former Dutchess YMCA building, is seeking development proposals for the property. A press release posted on the city's website said the city has released a Request for Expressions of Interest for the 3-acre site.

The building is located at 35 Montgomery St. which is south of downtown Poughkeepsie and close to Route 9 and the arterial.

The Y closed its doors in 2009 and the city took possession of the property at the beginning of the year.

Mayor Rob Rolison said that the city has waited for years to see if there was any private interest that could turn the building into something positive for the community.

"We can no longer afford to wait," he said, according to the press release. "The site is too important to sit idle for this long. We must be pro-active, if the progress we have made on so many other fronts is to continue."

For more than 40 years, the Y was a center of community activity, with a fitness center, gym, indoor track, swimming pool and community rooms.

The building's condition has deteriorated and the city is working to determine the extent of environmental remediation it would take to salvage it or whether the building should be torn down.

The RFEI is intended to bring in ideas that could yield community benefit and is the beginning of a process to figure out what the best and most realistic future use of the site will be, the city said.

There will be at least two public outreach meeting to gather ideas about the property, and the public may send in written comments as well.

Questions from potential developers must be submitted in writing via mail, e-mail or fax by 4 p.m. Monday May 20. Proposals are due in to the City of Poughkeepsie Planning and Development Department by 3 p.m. on Monday June 3.

Details about the project can be found here.

Let's get the ball rolling for the city. What do you think should happen to the site of the former Dutchess YMCA? Tell us in the comments.

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