The construction of the new Spencer Family YMCA, a renovation and addition to what was BladeRunners, is finally set to begin.

On March 28, representatives of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh and members of the Spencer Family gathered in front of the former BladeRunners to celebrate the start of renovations to the building.

The renovations will convert the skating facility into a multi-purpose facility capable of servicing twice the number of people it can serve.

Bethel Park Mayor Jack Allen said about the project, “Bethel Park is looking forward to its future with this new facility.”

Work on this project has long been delayed by complications with zoning issues which took much longer than the YMCA expected when it purchased the BladeRunners building for $2.5 million in 2012.

The new YMCA will be named the Spencer Family YMCA in honor of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh trustee, Larry Spencer.

The BladeRunners building is a 62,000 square feet and when renovations are completed it will contain a large indoor pool with 4 lap lanes, a recreational pool, ice hockey rink, several exercise studios, a community room, sports court, state-of-the-art wellness center, and an indoor hockey rink. This renovation is expected to be completed in a year, barring any further complications.

The space will also enable the YMCA to have state-of-the-art cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, as well as offer services such as personal training, group classes and training, senior fitness classes and groups, water aerobics, swim lessons, ice hockey leagues and diabetes prevention programs.