Anonymous charitable foundation buys Sault Ste. Marie YMCA more time

A charitable foundation in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is purchasing the YMCA's building in hopes of saving it from shutting down.

In a news release, the city said the foundation is staying anonymous at this time.

The YMCA of Sault Ste. Marie was slated to close on May 15 due to increased operational costs, inflation and a slow return to pre-COVIDgym memberships.

With the purchase of the building, plans are now underway to continue programming through the summer, including child-care operations.

The YMCA runs several daycare centres throughout the city with a total of 560 spots.

When it was slated to close, parents expressed concern they would lose their spots and not have any daycare available for their children.

The city said the May 15 closure date has been postponed and there will now be a 60-day"due diligence" period on the plan for this unnamed foundation to purchase the YMCA building.

"We have been working around the clock with our partners to develop and implement a plan to secure the future of the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie," Mayor Matthew Shoemaker said in the release.

"I know the tight timeline following the YMCA's original announcement that operations would cease caused significant anxiety for community members, and I wanted to ensure we communicated an update to the public about the situation as soon as possible. We will continue to do so moving forward."

The city continues to work with several partners to develop a long-term plan for the YMCA. A report to council on May 13 is expected to have more details on commitments with other organizations to keep the YMCA running long term.