ST. CLOUD - The new "St. Cloud Community Aquatics Center and YMCA" it getting ready to open. Y director Greg Gack says they're scheduled to open their doors for use at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 30th. Between now and then there's still a lot of finishing touches that need to be done.

Gack says, because the facility is so much larger than their current space, they still need to add a lot of staff...

We're still looking for life guards, we're looking for swim instructors, we're looking for climbing wall instructors, the front desk...We've grown, we'll probably add another 30 part timers as we move from across the street to here.

Gack says their summer hours will be 5:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.

A family membership is $55, while a daily guest pass for a family is $16. An individual day pass is $10.50. The Y currently has over 7,000 members, and that number has been growing.

He says he expects it to be a destination spot for people in many communities.

This isn't just a place you'll want to come to one time, this is a destination location.  And, we realize it's a regional destination location.

Some of the features of the new facility include: two pools, a hot tub, steam room, and sauna. There's also a kid's zone, a walking track, and a climbing wall.  Other features include space for classes like yoga, zumba, spin cycle, and more. They have 70 pieces of cardio equipment.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis checking out one of the two pools. Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis checking out one of the two pools. Photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice
loading...

CentraCare has also leased some space in the building for their "Lifestyle Health Center".

St. Cloud voters approved spending half-cent sales tax money - up to $10 million - for the project in 2004.  St. Cloud and the YMCA agreed to partner on building the project in July 2012.  The total cost for the project is $27 million.

Gack says, sooner rather than later, they'll start the fundraising effort for the next phase which is the outdoor water park.

If you'd like to see it for yourself, a community open house will be held Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

More From Mix 94.9