Community Corner
Westport-Weston Family Y Scrambles to Raise $6M by Mid-May
Local Y needs to raise 'significant portion' of $6 million in order for construction of new facility at Mahackeno to begin in October.
The recently launched the grass-roots phase of its “Building What Matters” campaign to raise $6 million for the construction of a new facility at the Mahackeno Outdoor Center and is hoping to raise most of it by mid-May so construction can begin in October.
The fundraising campaign began in early 2011 after regarding the local approvals process for the project were , according to a statement on the Y's website.
To date, the Westport-Weston Family Y has reportedly secured $30 million for the project — about $6.3 million in private and donations; $15.5 million from the sale of the existing downtown center; $5 million in financing; and $3 million from investments, according to a breakdown provided by the Westport News.
“The time is now for the community to help make its new Y a reality,” said Rob Reeves, Family Y CEO, in the statement.
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The Y also announced that construction of the new, 102,000-square-foot facility will be handled in phases, not all at once as had been originally planned, starting with a 54,000-square-foot section. This will give the Y more time to meet its fundraising goal and also gives it the option to scale the project back if it gets too expensive.
