CANANDAIGUA, NY — Forget about swimming, aerobics classes and bench presses at the former YMCA site in Canandaigua. Instead, think fine dining, craft beer tasting and dancing at wedding parties, and for some, office work.
Capstone Real Estate Development successfully received a variance from the city Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday night that would help the project proposed for the North Main Street property to proceed.
Don Lasher, CEO of the Rochester-based development company, said he could not publicly identify the businesses he is working with, but the approval will go a long way toward executing their leases.
Lasher is hopeful construction work — the bulk of which will be repurposing the interior of the 55,000-square-foot facility — will begin in the fall, with users opening in March or April 2025.
The property carries a residential-institution zoning, meaning that an institutional use such as a church or a library, or in this case, a Y, is allowed near homes. A restaurant, for example, would not be allowed without a variance from the code.
Lashe said during the meeting the zoning is tailor-made for the YMCA, but “not much else.”
The developer, who is redeveloping the former Lisk industrial site in the city where the Factory 243 apartments and popular Working Class Coffee now operate, purchased the former YMCA site before it moved to a much larger facility on North Street in Canandaigua. The developer is restricted from seeking businesses that would compete with the new Sands Family YMCA branch, according to Lasher.
Capstone also owns the site of the former Daily Messenger office on Buffalo Street, where no several healthcare offices are located.
The iconic Post Office portion of the overall property, which has been pieced together and added on over the years, would house the restaurant on its first floor and seat anywhere from 80 to 100 guests, Lasher said. The second and third floors would be used for offices.
While the exterior of the building, which was built on land donated by Canandaigua philanthropist Mary Clark Thompson in 1910 and expanded in 1936, “needs TLC,” Lasher said, it’s in otherwise great shape.
The developer plans to fill in the swimming pool area and use the space for weddings and private events. The brewery would be in the former gym area.
Overall, the businesses would use the existing lot for parking and public spaces on North Main Street and Atwater Place.
“We think we have enough parking,” Lasher said.
Lasher said he plans to meet with neighbors who objected to lighting in the rear of the property and other sight issues associated with the Y operation but is confident their concerns can be addressed.
Canandaigua City Manager John Goodwin said that ever since the YMCA decided to move to a new location, the question is: What is going to go in at the old Y?
“Now, our community is starting to see what that could be,” Goodwin said. “It could be another asset for our community.”
The project is exciting, Lasher said, but has its challenges and a lot of work will need to be done to get to the end point.
“It’s a very beautiful building and very unique,” Lasher said. “I don’t know anything else like it. The whole project is unique."
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