West St. Paul residents want community center on old YMCA site

Dozens of West St. Paul residents — and others from neighboring communities — are urging the Dakota County suburb to build a community center on a 9-acre site once occupied by the YMCA.

The residents, many of them senior citizens, lamented the loss of the Y, which closed in 2019 after occupying the same building for decades. Since then, there's been no place to gather to exercise or have coffee, they said, and youth have nowhere to hang out, either.

"I really, really hope that this is the start of a plan for something to happen," West St. Paul resident Josie O'Connor told city leaders at a meeting earlier this week.

Resident Kelly Kratzke said she wants city officials to consider building it on the parcel along Thompson Avenue east of Robert Street "because I don't know where else it would go."

In August, the YMCA announced that a makeshift Y location in Inver Grove Heights would shut down in late October; it closes Friday. YMCA members can go to the Eagan location instead, an email from the nonprofit suggested.

The Y continues to look for partnerships that will "expand its mission" — including in northern Dakota County, said Mike Lavin, YMCA of the North's vice president of operations.

West St. Paul is already pursuing a community center feasibility study at residents' suggestion as part of its parks planning process.

And they want the city to put development plans for the site in question — still owned by Hy-Vee, which scrapped plans for a grocery store earlier this year — on hold until the feasibility study is complete.

The city has a purchase agreement on the property now, said West St. Paul Mayor Dave Napier. The city aims to find a developer to build housing, retail and outdoor amenities on the site. That developer would take over the city's purchase agreement.

The community center idea is riddled with challenges, including how West St. Paul — or even multiple cities — could afford it and where it would go.

Mayors of all three cities noted the high cost of such a project.

Napier said he believes it's possible to build one but said it likely couldn't be on the old YMCA site, which is worth more than $5 million. The city can't afford to buy it, he said, and wouldn't burden taxpayers with the bill.

If a community center takes shape, Napier said he thinks the Y will play a central role in it.

A city presentation from September included rough cost estimates. If the city built it alone, land and construction would cost between $20 million and $105 million. The city would have an annual payment of $1.6 million to $6.4 million and other costs, such as staff, would add several additional millions of dollars per year.

The taxes of an average household would increase by $116 to $562 each year, not including membership fees.

Partnerships could help ease that burden, said Joel Knoepfler, a West St. Paul resident.

Mendota Heights Mayor Stephanie Levine said she's open to the community center concept. She noted that Mendota Heights, South St. Paul and West St. Paul already work together, including on a community ed program.

Community centers can become a financial burden for cities to operate. Maplewood decided in 2016 to have the YMCA run its community center programming, though the city still owns the building. The entities share the cost of capital improvements.

"It was just not a profitable endeavor, and we were starting to lose money," said Joe Sheeran, Maplewood's spokesperson.

In Rosemount, officials discarded plans for a city-run community center, instead partnering with Life Time Fitness on a new, $48 million facility.

A 2018 study confirmed strong demand for a recreation center, Rosemount officials said, but found the city would lose at least $500,000 a year running it.

In South St. Paul, Mayor Jimmy Francis said the city's Central Square Community Center stopped providing a workout facility in 2020. The school district took over, and the center mostly offers senior programming now.

Francis said he wants to explore "creative ways" to fund such a center. Several cities could invest in The Grove, Inver Grove Heights' community center, so their residents could use it. Or perhaps a locally based health care company could chip in.

It's important to find out exactly what people are looking for, he said.

He cautioned that working with three cities and potentially other partners will take time — and he added that South St. Paul isn't a wealthy community.

O'Connor, the West St. Paul resident, urged city leaders to remain open-minded.