Developer gives 68 acres for Cane Bay YMCA
Folks in Cane Bay don’t have to leave their neighborhood for school or the grocery store.
In a few years, they will also be able to play soccer, softball or swim in their own community, too.
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Cane Bay developer Gramling Brothers Real Estate and Development Co. recently gave 68 acres to the newly formed YMCA of Greater Charleston for a 70,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sports facility with a 50-meter pool, basketball court, track and multipurpose space. The surrounding land will have fields and courts, and the complex will be surrounded by 15 miles of trails.
“This will draw people from many miles,” said Paul Stoney, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Charleston. “This is a comprehensive venue where on a given day, 10,000 people could be attending a softball tournament, an aquatics tournament, a tennis tournament and soccer tournament.”
It’s the largest gift of land ever donated to a non-camp YMCA in the United States, said local YMCA officials.
Groundbreaking could come within 18 months, and the project will be built in phases, with hopes to complete it in a decade. The $12 million first phase includes the building, and the second phase, which does not have a price tag, includes the fields. This is great new for Charleston SC Real Estate.
The facility will be built in the center of Cane Bay, a 4,500-acre community off U.S. Highway 176 in Berkeley County that will have about 10,000 homes.
Gramling Brothers also donated land for the three Cane Bay schools.
The neighborhood is near the future Sheep Island-Interstate 26 interchange and close to several other large planned developments.
“With the infrastructure that’s being built, all roads will lead to this new YMCA,” said Ben Gramling, president of Gramling Brothers.
Because Berkeley County does not have a parks department, Gramling teamed with the YMCA of Greater Charleston, which was formed in July with the merger of the Cannon Street and Berkeley County organizations.
The Y is pursuing $8 million to $10 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will also hold a capital campaign to raise $3 million to $4 million more.
“This is an investment in the community, and all we’re asking them to do is support it,” Stoney said.
The donation was contingent upon the merger of the YMCAs, each of which was struggling, Stoney said. Cannon Street’s strength is programming, and Berkeley County has a membership-driven exercise facility.
“The expected revenue generation from the new facility will more than adequately cover the operational losses of the other facilities,” Stoney said. “Cane Bay will help underwrite both the Cannon Street YMCA and the Berkeley County YMCA.”