Racine Mayor outlines plan to demolish hazardous Downtown YMCA

Racine, Wis. (WRJN) – The city of Racine has acquired the former downtown YMCA building and is now preparing to demolish the structure due to safety concerns.

Racine Mayor Cory Mason explained this morning on The Don Rosen Show that the city purchased the property from the YMCA for $12,500 after receiving a warning from the fire chief. “The fire chief said, ‘Look, it is so dangerous that if there’s a fire in there, I’m not sending firefighters into the building. We will put the fire out externally, but it is not safe to go into that building,'” Mason said.

The mayor cautioned residents against attempting to enter the condemned building, stating, “It is not a safe structure to be inside of. So I would encourage people to stay out of it.”

The next steps for the city will be to remove any asbestos and other hazardous materials from the building before putting out bids to have it demolished. “The most important thing is to secure the site to make sure that it’s safe,” Mason said.  

After the building is taken down, the city will need to stabilize the bluff and remove any underground oil tanks on the property. “Then I think we can imagine what it might look like,” the mayor said, noting that the site has development potential despite its challenging topography.

Mason acknowledged that the loss of the YMCA facility means the city no longer has a public pool, as the school district is also closing its pools. “It’s an issue that we don’t have a space where kids can learn to swim in the city,” he said.  The mayor expressed excitement to continue discussions with the YMCA about the future use of the downtown property, stating, “I’m excited to continue to have conversation with them and their board about what that looks like.”

The Mayor says demo work could start this summer or fall.