Just in time for New Year's resolutions of healthier living, members of the YMCA Family Center have some added motivation:

A better and bigger Orange Avenue branch by midsummer.

The phenomenal growth throughout the Roanoke Valley YMCA also has launched discussions of expansions at the Kirk Family Center and Salem Y, less than three years after the new downtown building opened.

Officials say they have to enlarge the two largest branches to keep up with membership, which has tripled to 18,000 members in just three years. Those plans will be firmed up by spring, Executive Director Cal Johnson said.

That's nice, but the exciting news now is that the Family Center, which right now is the smallest and dingiest of the Y's three branches, will grow.

It's about time

The YMCA of Roanoke Valley's board gave the go-ahead at its Thursday meeting for a desperately needed $400,000 renovation and expansion of the Family Center.

The building at Orange Avenue and Gainsboro Road will be completely refurbished. A 1,200-square-foot addition on the west end will house men's and women's locker rooms and showers.

Groundbreaking could begin as early as February, Johnson said.

Anyone who has ever been in the facility knows how vastly inferior it is to the other branches. From cramped bathrooms to second- and third-generation equipment, the Family Center has been in need of an extreme makeover for a long time.

The project is good news for a community just north of downtown that has patiently waited its turn to enjoy equipment and amenities on par with the bigger and newer facilities downtown and in Salem.

"It has a lot to do with the history of the Y, and its service in the Northwest community," Johnson said. "That's a pretty important legacy to us. It's important for us to continue to have a Y. It obviously made sense for us to invest."

Room with a view

The small, red-brick building at the busy intersection will undergo a total renovation. The large, multipurpose room will become the wellness center -- with weights and cardio equipment, such as treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bicycles.

Doors leading into the multipurpose room from the lobby will be removed, giving the wellness center a more open look. Motorists stopped along Orange Avenue will have a good view of what's inside, to see what they're missing.

The concept is similar to the wall of windows at the front of the Kirk wellness center downtown. People inside can look outside and people outside can peek in.

The elevated stage at the Family Center will become a group exercise area. Though it won't be a separate room, it will be walled off.

The small room on the east end of the building that currently holds the few cardio machines will be converted into meeting space or used for child care while parents work out.

Each locker room will contain 36 lockers.

The locker rooms also will contain showers, sinks and commodes.

The plans are straightforward and the amenities are basic. But they're necessary.

Practically, the current 6,313-square-foot Family Center lacks accoutrements that every gym should have.

From a legacy perspective, the Family Center (which had its beginning in segregation) deserves to reflect an equal commitment by the Y to a neighborhood that is predominately black.

The Family Center was never designed as a full-service facility like the Kirk Center and the Salem Y. Rather, it's the incubator for YMCA youth programs that serve 2,000 kids annually.

The Family Center's health and wellness component makes exercise accessible to adults in the neighborhood, creating in them a desire to expand their routine and move to the Kirk Center or Salem.

Just as the other new branches generated a lot of new members, Family Center Director Michael Smith hopes the new facility will drive new memberships.

The facility currently has 450 members with exclusively Family Center memberships. With the health issues that disproportionately affect blacks -- such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease -- the new building should be the catalyst to get many of us off the sofa and into the gym.

"The Y is here and we want to partner with you to address issues with health," Smith said.

"The whole health issue is critical in the black community, but it's the whole nation," Johnson added.

"Part of our mission is to make a difference in the health of the community by providing a place for programs to help people improve their health."

The improved Family Center should be completed four to six months after groundbreaking, Johnson said. That could mean a ribbon-cutting as early as the summer.

Smith and Johnson are unsure whether the building will shut down completely during construction. If that happens, members will be welcome at the other two branches.

Finally, the Family Center will get its makeover. Shaping up the building should inspire many of us to step up our efforts to live healthier lives.

Shanna Flowers' column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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