BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Roxbury YMCA unveiled new upgrades to its Welcome Center on Wednesday, including new flooring, massive windows and handicap accessibility features.
YMCA of Greater Boston CEO David Shapiro said the center used to be "a small, not very bright, not very welcoming physical space," but these renovations breathed new life into its entire look and feel. They also bring the decades-old center into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Tayon Kulos, Associate Director of Membership at the Roxbury YMCA, said the work was "long overdue."
"We're hearing from a lot of members who are saying that they've been here for 50 [or] 40 years and they've never seen anything like this," Kulos said. "And that means the world to us."
Renovations to the Welcome Center cost $350,000, Shapiro said. Some of that funding came from the Yawkey Foundation while fundraising through the YMCA covered the rest.
The YMCA of Greater Boston said it has spent $1.2 million on maintenance and "other enhancements" at its Roxbury facility over the past six years.
Reverend Willie Bodrick II, Roxbury YMCA Board Chair, said these renovations help the facility support a community that otherwise suffers from a lack of investment.
"We are doing the work to continue to make intentional investments because this community deserves the best," Bodrick II said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@madisonwbz) reports.
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