DOWNEY — After years of planning and fundraising, officials broke ground Tuesday on the new Kolar Family YMCA, kicking off what is expected to be two years construction time.

The current YMCA building, which was already in need of repair when it closed in 2020 amid the pandemic, will be demolished to make way for a new 20,000 square foot facility featuring an outdoor basketball court, pickleball courts, a child activity center, indoor pool, men’s, women’s, and family locker rooms, state-of-the-art fitness center, and holistic health community space.

The existing gym will be maintained and retrofitted.

The project is expected to be completed in 2026.

A who’s who of Downey’s familiar faces gathered at the Downey YMCA site to celebrate the momentous occasion, including city council members from Downey and surrounding cities, city workers, Downey Unified School District board members and administrators, service clubs, business owners and community members.

Mauricio Nunez, chair of the Kolar YMCA board of managers, said that those in attendance were celebrating “a continuing legacy of the YMCA.”

“We are gathered here today not only to celebrate this groundbreaking, but to celebrate the work of everybody here, because everybody here has committed to the occasion,” said Nunez. “It’s not for us, it’s for our community.”

The ceremony also provided an opportunity to recognize Ron Kolar, the project’s leading donor and the new building’s namesake.

Retired journalist and award-winning author Dave Lopez called Kolar “a true giant in your community.”

“A lot of people come around, they say, ‘I’ll do this, I’ll do that.’ He’s a doer,” said Lopez. “Mr. Kolar, we owe you a great amount of gratitude.”

Kolar said that “the Y has been good to me.”

“My motivation was to leave something here in Downey,” said Kolar. “Downey has been good to me; it’s been a privilege to be a part of the Y. It’s a privilege to help the Y. It’s a privilege to belong to the Y. And it will be a privilege to see the Y continue, and meet the needs of other families like mine.”

The project continues to be a massive group effort to fund, drawing donations and pledges from the federal, state, city, and private sectors.

As part of her comments, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced that the county had committed $2 million to the project, saying that the facility would be “a beautiful, modern center with something for everyone.”

There is still work to be done for the Y, however, as the project is still around $4 million short of its initial $20 million goal.

Steve Roberson, volunteer capital campaign chair for the Kolar Family YMCA, said “we’re going to get it done.”

“Today, right here, standing right here, I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Roberson. “The Kolar family YMCA is going to be built here in Downey.”

Victor Dominguez, president and CEO of YMCA Metropolitan Los Angeles, thanked the project’s donors.

“The impact that we are experiencing today, in regards to the next few months to two years or so, it’s truly going to have regional impact,” said Dominguez. “For many of the elected officials that are represented here today, many of your constituents will also benefit from the programs and services, whether it be in this facility, or just the presence of the YMCA taking our programs and services to your communities and to your neighborhoods.”

Mayor Mario Trujillo said that the Y “changes lives.”

“I met a teenager who is now a lawyer… he continued to tell me about all the great activities that he participated in,” said Trujillo. “It’s those stories, those stories of individual families like mine that make the Y so important.”