After three years of planning, consultation and construction, the new $5.4 million YMCA Broken Hill Integrated Wellness Centre was today officially opened.
Member for Parkes the Hon. Mark Coulton MP, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW the Hon. John Barilaro MP and Member for Barwon the Hon. Kevin Humphries MP joined YMCA NSW team members and community and other partners to unveil a plaque and tour the new state-of-the-art facility.
The centre opened its doors to the community four weeks ago, with over 2,000 people coming through on the first weekend alone. Since the launch, it’s attracted more than 300 new members, appealing to a wider range of customers and visitors. The café has become a popular destination for locals and visitors and the return of the squash courts has led to a resurgence of the sport.
YMCA NSW was awarded $3.9 million in January 2017 from the NSW Government under the Restart NSW Resources for Regions program to redevelop the facility into a community wellness centre. The project was further boosted by a grant of $371,302 from the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund in July 2018 for the mezzanine level; $100,000 from Broken Hill City Council through the Community Assistance Grants program and $25,000 from Maari Ma Aboriginal Health.
Designed by AJ+C architects following consultation with the community and leading experts in child safe building design, the new centre was constructed in less than nine months by Hutchinson Builders, with 19,373 hours worked by 41 different trades (the majority local), and the target spend on Indigenous participation exceeded by 60 per cent. The project was overseen by Central West Project Management.
YMCA NSW CEO Susannah Le Bron said: “Today is a tremendously exciting day for YMCA Broken Hill and the entire YMCA NSW team as we, along with the Deputy Premier, Member for Barwon and Member for Parkes, officially open this wonderful community facility that’s been years in the making.
“I’d like to acknowledge the contributions of the Australian Government, NSW Government, Broken Hill City Council and Maari Ma Aboriginal Health to this project and thank them for their support. The YMCA has been an integral part of Broken Hill for over 100 years, and the transformation of the Y will ensure we can continue to positively impact the community here well into the future.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the incredible vision, hard work and dedication of Shane Simmons, who has driven this project from day one and put in an extraordinary amount of time and care to create a centre the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Congratulations to Shane, as well as Project Manager Randall Howard and team on a truly remarkable achievement in delivering this new centre.”
Area Manager Shane Simmons said: “We’re incredibly proud to have delivered this important infrastructure project for the Broken Hill community and Far West region on time and within the budget envelope. It has exceeded all expectations through larger than expected job creation and an incredible take up of our programs and services. We sincerely thank the entire community for embracing this wonderful facility. They truly deserve it.”
The new YMCA Broken Hill Integrated Wellness Centre offers:
• Modern wellness health club, studios and virtual classes
• Youth Hub, active after school and child-minding services
• Wellness Café, catering, retail and room hire
• Personal and group training
• CrossFit and functional training
• Squash courts
• Disability services
• Indigenous program
• Youth mental health programs
• Corporate wellness packages.
For more information on YMCA NSW, visit www.ymcansw.org.au
Media contacts:
Shane Simmons, YMCA NSW Area Manager Broken Hill
shane.simmons@ymcansw.org.au
Louise O’Donnell, YMCA NSW Senior Communications Advisor
louise.odonnell@ymcansw.org.au
About YMCA NSW:
YMCA NSW is a profit-for-purpose organisation focused on healthy living, social impact and empowering young people. We operate 22 recreation centres, 62 Out of School Hours Care services and two camping locations which fund our diverse range of community programs. We’ve been creating positive change and supporting communities for more than 165 years. www.ymcansw.org.au
