Cambridge Y to Renovate

Cambridge's only Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) will sell off about half of the space it has occupied for the past 92 years next month and plans to redevelop the remainder in an attempt to provide better subsidized housing and recreational facilities for the Central Square neighborhood.

Although a developer has not yet been selected and a decision has not been reached on whether to tear down the present structure, the YMCA intends to construct a building that will allow the organization to expand its community services, said Richard Foot, executive vice-president of the Cambridge YMCA.

Foot said his group was forced to renovate its current facilities because it no longer complies with safety and sanitary codes. As a result, the YMCA may have to reduce the number of spaces in its lodging program from 138 to a token number.

The YMCA is currently the largest lodging house in the city. According to Foot, "the YMCA and YWCA combined comprise more than half the lodging house room in the city."

But stricter codes and improvements in the quality of living since the building was first constructed have reduced the viability of cheap housing in Cambridge, and the residence is "not up to the standards of the YMCA" anymore, said Foot. He said problems include the electric current, plumbing, lighting and fire doors.

After the renovation, the YMCA "will not manage the housing element in the package" because it is not equipped to deal with the special problems of the lodgers.

"Sixty percent of the population upstairs is troubled." Foot said. "They are either chronically mentally ill, substance abusers, or anti-social. He added, "The population has changed substantially with the deinstitutionalization initiative."

Lack of finances prevents the YMCA from providing counseling services for these individuals, but Foot said, "other agencies [such as the Cambridge and Somerville Cooperative Project] who are very well equipped have expressed interest" in taking over the housing program.

Total costs for renovation will be about $11 million. The YMCA will have to spend $3 million to bring the residence "up to code," the vice-president said. The developer will be obligated to renovate 60,000 square feet of YMCA property free of charge, as well as their own space.

Foot said funding for the renovations will come from the sale of the 200,000 square feet, as well as from that of a 90 acre camp in Dunstable, Massachusetts. That sale raised $1.5 million.

No money for the project will come from the community, Ford said. A major fund drive in 1983 raised $1.1 million, but that money has all been spent. Further fundraisers are not planned.