Construction Starts on Collierville YMCA

By Laurie Johnson
– The Daily News –

Construction has started on a Young men’s Christian Association athletic facility at Poplar Avenue and Schilling Road in the Schilling Farms development in Collierville.

The 28,000-square-foot health club, which will be called the YMCA at Schilling Farms, is scheduled to open next summer, and it will have an aerobics studio, fitness room with exercise equipment and free weights, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

The Collierville YMCA will be the first non-residential structure built in the 400-acre multi-use development. It will be the 11th athletic facility in the Memphis and Shelby County YMCA system.

The facility is being built on seven acres donated to the YMCA system by Harry Smith, owner of Schilling Enterprises.

“We’ve been working with the city of Collierville on this project for five and a half years,” said Ric Nuber, chief executive officer of the Memphis and Shelby County YMCA network.

“The city did a marketing study and found a tremendous demand for this kind of facility in the area. With that in mind, we proceeded with fund-raising efforts for the facility, and construction is now underway.”

The new health center is expected to cost more than $33 million to build, Nuber said.

Although the YMCA financed $3.4 million through First Tennessee Bank, Nuber said the organization is not planning to have to use the full amount.

“We will be actively raising funds in the community, both individual and corporate contributions,”he said.

When it is completed, the new athletic facility will be large enough to accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 members.

“We are building it large enough so we can accommodate quite a few people,” Nuber said. “We feel comfortable that we will be able to handle that many.”

The new athletic facility, which was designed by Memphis architect Jim Lindy.