YMCA permanently closing its Niagara Falls location

The YMCA will be permanently closing its Niagara Falls location.

The site, which opened in 2005, has been temporarily closed since mid-March because of COVID-19.

Individual YMCA locations in the Niagara region had reopened prior to the provincial government’s latest lockdown, which came into effect on Dec. 26, but the Niagara Falls location in the MacBain Community Centre remained closed.

In a release, the YMCA of Niagara says the pandemic has had a “devastating” impact. The Niagara Falls location was experiencing membership losses prior to the pandemic and projections suggest those numbers will continue to decline.

“The YMCA at MacBain Community Centre has been a cornerstone of our community for the past 15 years,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati.

“The City has had a long and positive partnership with the YMCA, and City staff and Council worked hard with YMCA leadership to find a mutually beneficial way for services to continue, but in the end, there was no financially viable way to do so.”

YMCA of Niagara says it will continue to operate licensed child care, camp and community outreach programs and services in other locations in the city.