Last week YMCA St Paul’s Group, Thornsett and Neilcott Construction marked a major milestone in the redevelopment of the YMCA Wimbledon – a new state-of-the-art building facing on to The Broadway, Wimbledon.
This ceremony marks the topping out of the new YMCA Wimbledon building, an exciting development that, when complete, will also provide 135 new homes and two ground floor commercial units.
The project partners were joined for the ceremony by the Mayor of Merton, Councillor Joan Henry, the Deputy Mayor of Merton, Councillor Agatha Akyigyina OBE, the Deputy Leader of Merton Council Councillor Eleanor Stringer, and local ward representative Councillor Paul Kohler.
The new YMCA Wimbledon building will provide a modern living space for residents including 121 hostel rooms with en-suite bathrooms and cooking facilities. This represents Phase 1 of the redevelopment of the current YMCA site.
Residents and the wider community will be able to access enhanced facilities which include a gym, studio space, a children’s play area and new YMCA café. The new facilities are expected to open for use in Summer 2023.
This new setting will enhance the quality of service and support that YMCA St Paul’s Group is able to offer to residents and represents a new chapter in the organisation’s work in Merton, which has been ongoing for almost 150 years.
To progress the redevelopment of the site, YMCA St Paul’s Group partnered with specialist developer Thornsett and Neilcott Construction.
Richard James, CEO of YMCA St Paul’s Group, said:
“It’s brilliant to see the new YMCA Wimbledon building take shape – we’re over the moon to have reached this crucial milestone in the project. Meeting the needs of our residents and local community is vital and so we’re delighted to be another step closer to the opening.
“We’re thankful to Neilcott, Thornsett, DLA, Merton Council, the Mayor of London and the local community for making this a reality and for their ongoing dedication and support of the project. Myself and the whole YMCA Wimbledon team are very much looking forward to welcoming our residents and the community into the building when it’s completed in 2023.”
Gerard Cunningham, Executive Chairman of Thornsett said:
“We are delighted to have reached this important milestone. We have worked closely with YMCA St Paul’s Group, Neilcott, Merton Council and the local community to reach this point. These new facilities will serve the community well into the future and further the YMCA’s crucial work.”
“We look forward to marking the full completion and opening of the new YMCA building next year. We will then start work on the next phase, which will provide much-needed business space and homes for first-time buyers.”
Phase 2 of the project will begin once installation and occupation of the new YMCA Building is complete. This will involve the demolition of the former YMCA building and its replacement with new homes and business units. This work is expected to take a further two years to complete.
Merton Council’s Planning Committee resolved to grant consent for the redevelopment in December 2020. Since then, the project has progressed to schedule with all work on site due to be complete by early 2026.
The work on site has been accompanied by a Construction Working Group that has provided a forum for local residents and businesses to receive updates and bring matters to the development team’s attention. The Working Group will continue to meet during the fit out of the new building and the next phase of works.
As part of the community effort, four of the current residents at the YMCA are working with Neilcott on site and are playing a vital role as the scheme progresses
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