The Sioux Falls Family YMCA is returning to its roots as a staple of downtown life, business and fitness.

“We’ve always known the Y to be that presence downtown, and with a history of more than 100 years there, it’s almost in the foundation of Sioux Falls,” said Mike Murphy, CEO of the YMCA. “We’ve seen some changes over the years, but the Y is back.”

From expanded fitness hours, the return of group exercise classes and an increase in after-school programming, the Sioux Falls Family YMCA is poised for influence in the community, he said.

The building downtown, which includes income-qualified apartments, offers a variety of programming. And as the city grows and changes around it, the Y is ready to embrace new challenges.

“The fitness market has changed, the building has changed, but it’s exciting,” Murphy said. It’s great to see the building full again and to see people using it in a lot of different ways. It’s been a really exciting time for us over the past few years.”

Fitness programming

For a while, GreatLife Golf & Fitness contracted to provide the gym equipment at the downtown Y and staff the front desk. That contract ended in 2023, and the Y was able to purchase the equipment and begin a campaign to grow fitness memberships, development director Kadyn Wittman said. A membership promotion early this year was the first step in helping the downtown Y return to its status as a destination for fitness.

“We are doing fitness classes a few times a week, and we will begin one-evening-a-week yoga classes in April,” Wittman said. “It’s getting revitalized.”

The residential growth all over downtown has helped fuel a resurgence in fitness facilities. “We’ve seen more individuals looking for an opportunity to work out downtown,” Murphy said. “Historically, it was before and after work. You are still getting those people who work downtown too. It’s been nice to see a blend of that.”

Wittman said memberships have doubled since Jan. 1. The hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the Y is considering 24-hour access. “For a while, we were under the radar, but we’ve been doing a lot more public advertisements,” Wittman said. “It’s just cool. It feels exciting.”

Wittman said the Y also is working on corporate memberships and other partnerships with businesses. Other developments include expanded racquetball, youth classes and a partnership with a pickleball organization – with tournaments in the future. Members also can use the EmBe pool as part of a reciprocity agreement.

After-school programming

It’s impossible to think about the Sioux Falls Family YMCA and not think about after-school programming.

“We’re really proud of our out-of-school-time programming as part of the new Learning Community Model,” Murphy said of the Y’s administration of after-school programs at various elementary schools. “We’ve also had a long presence for middle school kids.”

The youth basketball program just celebrated 94 years of basketball tournaments. Most recently, the Y partnered with Sioux Falls Lacrosse and is the sole provider of lacrosse in the city. “We’re seeing numbers increase every year,” Murphy said. “It’s exciting to branch out.”

People are noticing.

“I have a lot of people ask what’s going on downtown, what do you do there,” Murphy said. “It’s exciting to let them know we have memberships. We have a fantastic fitness facility.”

But the Y also has a renewed focus on its core mission, he said.

“A couple years ago, our board and our staff took a hard look at what would be the best mission for the downtown Y, and, as is so often the case, sometimes things come full circle,” Murphy said. “The Y was such a presence for youth downtown, and we decided to dedicate a large amount of space for that. Any child under the age of 18 can come in for free and be part of the facility.”

For Murphy and the board, that’s important, he said.

“As we see the community grow, you see that need for a good structure and a safe place for kids in the evenings and on weekends.”

He regularly hears from people who walked from the old Washington High School to the Y after school. “It’s always been a mission, and it’s exciting to see that resurgence.”

For Wittman, that mission is part of what makes her work meaningful.

“When I was growing up, my parents really relied on after-school programming,” she said. “I was brought on board to help build our scholarship program. Mike Murphy is so committed to never turning a kid away because of finances. I’ve seen that in every aspect of our organization. The work we do is so much deeper than fitness. We are so much part of our community.”

For a while, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire used the downtown Y space for programming. The organization soon outgrew it and moved into a new space at the Empower Campus. But that opened up the area for the Y to program the Community Youth Center. That includes a basketball program that rewards kids for their grades.

“We will be presenting data that when we started this, our (number of) kids who have had missing assignments has gone from 80 percent to 20 percent. We have seen these amazing results,” Wittman said.

The youth center also provides art therapy, tutoring and mentorships. The downtown Y serves about 50 kids age 14 to 18 on an average day, Wittman said.

Through fundraising, the Y was able to build a kitchen at the downtown facility. That will help with meals for kids at Leif Ericson Day Camp and also for snacks for youths who use the Y in the evenings, Wittman said. There’s more to come, she said, including weekend take-home meals for kids who are food-insecure, cooking classes and partnerships with other nonprofits to address needs.

“It’s such a key part of our mission, and we are going to have such a big impact,” Wittman said.

And, of course, don’t forget the 60 acres of woods in the middle of Sioux Falls that serves as the site of the Leif Ericson Day Camp.

Leif Ericson served 3,500 campers last year, Murphy said.

“We just keep getting bigger and better,” Wittman said. “A huge part of the camp is the scholarship program. Last year, 14 percent of the kids at camp were there on scholarship. We gave out $100,000 worth of scholarships. We have 700 kids a day.”

Downtown living

The Y has 52 affordable housing apartments that were built in 2015, said Jon Knutson, vice president of finance at Lloyd Cos. and a member of the Sioux Falls Family YMCA board of directors. It’s usually about 90 percent full, he said.

“It’s part of the Y’s mission to create strong families,” he said. “We see providing affordable housing as a way to do that. Our residents are in that 30 to 60 percent median income, so it allows those people to spend a little less on housing and have a little more discretionary income. It really marries up with our mission.”

The apartments include efficiencies up to three bedrooms. Residents have access to the Y and its programming, Knutson said. “That fits with our mission of strong kids and strong communities.”

Knutson, like Murphy, is excited about the future of the Y.

“The Y is in a strong position,” Knutson said “We have never been more committed to our mission of creating strong kids, strong families and strong communities.”