YMCA Cuts Ribbon After $17 Million Upgrade To Facility

When a group of local high schoolers pushed to create the first YMCA in Lower Bucks County in 1935, they couldn’t have predicted the growth that led to the completely renovated facility in Bristol Township.

Over the past two years, the YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties spent more than $17 million to completely overhaul the YMCA branch at 601 South Oxford Valley Road in the Fairless Hills section of Bristol Township.

On Thursday with more than 300 people gathered, YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties’ officials, politicians, and community leaders gathered to cut the ribbon on the new facility that includes a full gym, pool, walking track, group fitness studios, child care center, and a physical therapy suite.

Zane Moore, president and CEO of YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties, said when he first took over management of what was then the YMCA of Lower Bucks County it was in financial disarray and members where doubtful his organization could fix it.

Moore, who grew up across the street from the facility, worked to gain the trust of members and quickly found out the facility needed to be renovated.

In 2019, the YMCA of Bucks County announced the plan to renovate the building after a proposal fell through for a new location. The multi-million dollar renovation began in late 2020.

The millions for the work came through community members, local foundations, and grants from the state and federal government.

“There are many donors who got behind this project because of a deep commitment to strengthening the Lower Bucks community, recognizing the importance of a strong Y and what it could mean to help revitalize this community,” said Moore.

The local YMCA leader said the work pushed forward during the COVID-19 pandemic, a move that raised some concern within the organization, but worked out in the end.

“The Y has been the fortunate recipient of a tremendous amount of public support due to the efforts of elected officials. This is demonstrative that it takes everyone, regardless of opinion or issue, to come together for the greater good,” said Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican.

Fitzpatrick brought up a group of lawmakers of both parties who were key in obtaining fund for the project.

The congressman, a native of Middletown Township’s Levittown section, said the YMCA branch is more than a gym, but a center for many needs in the community.

“What the YMCA does is right in the sweet spot of what we are trying to do at the Danaher Lynch Family Foundation,” said Tom Lynch, president and co-founder of the Danaher Lynch Family Foundation. “We all have needs at different times in our lives. Everyone, at some point, needs help. We are coming together with the Y to help people be the best they can be, and right in the community we grew up in.”

Moore said the renovated facility will serve the needs of the community for years to come.

“I am truly humbled by the incredible and generous support of our Y and what it means for the community in Lower Bucks,” said Moore. “It means we can continue to build upon our 80-year history of serving those in the community who need us the most.”

The building, which looks much different than it did just three years ago, had ground broken in 1959 and opened in 1960. It had undergone many renovations over the decades.

A time capsule from 1960 was opened recently and the items in it are on display in the lobby.

Moore said a new time capsule from 2022 will be placed for YMCA members to open in future decades.

The YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties is a merged organization formed in recent years by the combination of the Lower Bucks Family YMCA, Central Bucks YMCA, Upper Bucks YMCA, and YMCA of Hunterdon County.

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