After months of speculation, the charitable organization that has tentatively agreed to purchase the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA building has been revealed.
The Dr. Lou and Mae Lukenda Charitable Foundation has exclusively disclosed to SooToday they are the group that has offered to purchase the nearly 60-year-old building that has been at the centre of a tireless citywide effort to keep the institution open.
"The previously undisclosed Foundation wanted to quietly support this cause but recognizes that the secrecy of it has been fuelling curiosity and speculation and they want to assure the public of its good intentions with this support," their statement reads.
A local non-profit established to honour their legacy, Dr. Lou and Mae Lukenda believed in the motto to “give where you live,” and have supported numerous local causes over many years, according to the release.
“As with many local families, the Y has been an important part of our family over multiple generations,” stated a spokesperson for the Lukenda family. “We are glad to be able to support this effort to save the Sault Ste. Marie Y through the purchase of the building, enabling the YMCA to pay off their existing bank mortgage and fund needed repairs."
The Lukendas agreed to purchase the YMCA building at 235 McNabb St. for $2 million just over two months ago under the condition that the city would backstop the lease and provide up to $505,000 for capital repairs — which could then be leveraged to access a further $495,000 in funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
But in order for the plan to work, the YMCA has to grow its membership list to approximately 2,400 by July 15 — proof that it could remain sustainable in the long-term.
Unconfirmed reports from the Save our YMCA group on Facebook suggested that 365 memberships were still needed as of Tuesday morning.
The expected closing date of the sale is Aug. 6.
Residents first learned of the YMCA’s then impending closure in a bombshell announcement on April 16 when the facility’s former interim chief executive officer John Haddock revealed that services would cease operations by May 15.
Listed for $2,999,000, the YMCA’s predicament was blamed on high operational costs, inflation, and a slow return to pre-COVID levels of participation.
“We are not ruling out an 'angel investor' that would purchase the property and work out an arrangement for the Y to continue as a tenant,” James Caicco, broker of record at Century 21 Choice Realty Inc., told SooToday in the spring.
If the Y were to fold, its closure would have impacted 169 jobs, put 541 daycare spaces at risk, and strip nearly 2,800 memberships.
And not to be forgotten, of course, the 125 years of history behind the YMCA name in Sault Ste. Marie would come to a halt.
One day after the initial announcement, Y leadership received an earful from frustrated members who felt blindsided by the news.
Ali Dennie, a long-time member and volunteer at the Y, fought back tears as she spoke about all the positives the McNabb Street establishment had provided her with over the years.
"I was here every single day, I'm not joking,” she said in April. “I did swimming, I did gymnastics, I coached the recreational program. What happens for those kids whose parents can't afford it?"
Desperate for solutions, Dennie joined forces with Y advocates Kirsten Duke and Dr. Teryn Bruni to create the "Save our YMCA" Facebook group. More than 2,000 members joined within the first 48 hours, and the page has since grown to 3,400 strong.
The trio organized a rally outside the Y and collected ideas from a town hall at the Machine Shop before they presented their findings to city council on April 29.
On May 7, just one week before its expected closure, the City of Sault Ste. Marie revealed an anonymous buyer had agreed to purchase the YMCA building, which would allow the organization to operate its programming and daycare at least through the summer.
Mayor Matthew Shoemaker told SooToday at the time that the connection between this unnamed foundation and the Y may have never materialized if it wasn’t for the grassroots community organizers who showed their support for the historic institution.
“The community's passion for the Y wouldn't have been known without the community groups stepping forward,” he said.
One week later, city council finalized a plan to save the YMCA by sending $505,000 in funding from its reserves to this anonymous buyer.
Those taxpayer funds would be leveraged in order to access another $495,000 — $1 million in total — to complete repairs on the almost 60-year-old building.
The charitable foundation agreed in principle to purchase the YMCA building at 235 McNabb St. for $2 million — almost a million dollars less than the asking price — with the condition that the $1 million in upgrades be completed at the cost of the taxpayer.
The city agreed to backstop the lease for the Sault Y, allowing it to effectively lease its formerly-owned building after it is sold to the local foundation. That plan will require agreements between the city and the foundation, as well as between the city and Sault Y.
In a poll conducted by SooToday on May 13, more than 60 per cent of readers voted "absolutely not" when asked if the city should use your tax dollars to help save the Y.
"There needs to be a heck of a lot more transparency before the city jumps into this deal with tax payer dollars," one person commented.
"I think many of us would like to know the benefactor's name...that information is necessary to form an opinion," another reader mentioned.
While the majority of voters appeared one-sided on the issue, city CAO Tom Vair explained the cost to taxpayers could be even higher if the Y were to fail.
"There is risk, but we think that risk is manageable," he said.
By the later weeks of June, city councillors voiced concerns over an apparent lack of action by the Y.
Two weeks ago, the facility still needed 1,000 new memberships as part of the agreement with the city and the charitable foundation.
But as of Tuesday morning, there were unconfirmed reports in the Save our YMCA group that the number of memberships needed was down to 365.
A formal agreement will be presented to city council on July 15, with an expected closing date for the sale of the building on Aug. 6.
Just hours before the Lukendas revealed themselves as the buyer Tuesday evening, Algoma Steel donated $250,000 to the YMCA, or $50,000 a year over the next five years.
Those funds will support the Y's $1.5-million capital campaign, “A Bridge to Our Future."
SooToday will have more coverage on this story as more information becomes available.
— with files from Kenneth Armstrong and David Helwig