Golden Corridor YMCA closing its Taylor Y branch in Elgin
Golden Corridor Family YMCA will close the Taylor Family YMCA in Elgin on Oct. 1.
The closure will not affect the Y’s before- and after-school programs, day camps or other services and programs held at area school sites that are not directly part of the 50 N. McLean Blvd. facility.
Members were notified of the decision in an emailed letter dated Sept. 17 from Doug Britt, Golden Corridor president and CEO.
“Maintaining and making the ongoing repairs necessary to keep the facility operating safely and effectively has been a significant challenge for many years,” Britt wrote in the email. “Unfortunately, the facility never fully recovered from the impact of COVID-19, and the continued cost of repairs and maintenance have reached a level we can no longer maintain.”
According to Britt, responding to a Courier-News email on Monday, the Taylor YMCA has been put up for sale.
“The long-range plan is to build a new facility in Elgin,” Britt said.
The Taylor branch opened in 1978 and has a six-lane, 25-meter indoor pool, wellness center, group fitness studio, indoor and outdoor tracks, sports field and locker rooms with showers.
Elgin members can continue their memberships at the Alfred Campanelli Branch YMCA, 141 N. Barrington Road, Schaumburg, at their current membership rates through the end of December. The Schaumburg facility is about 11 miles away from the Taylor Y.
The Schaumburg branch opened at its current location in June in what had been a Signature Fitness Club, according to published reports. Golden Corridor is also converting a closed At Home store door to the site into a sports complex expected to open later this year.
The former Campanelli YMCA at 33 W. Wise Road in Schaumburg closed in fall 2024 after 56 years to make way for a townhouse development.
In September 2014, the Alfred Campanelli YMCA and Elgin-based Prairie Valley Family YMCA, which included the Taylor branch and Camp Edwards in East Troy, Wisconsin, merged to become the Golden Corridor Family YMCA.
The YMCA has been a presence in Elgin since 1866. When the downtown facility closed in 1961, the Channing YMCA opened on the city’s east side, according to Courier-News reports. The Taylor YMCA on the west side opened 17 years later.
The Channing YMCA closed in July 2002 in anticipation of the city opening the multipurpose Centre of Elgin downtown in November 2002. The Channing building was in need of extensive repairs, according to reports, and YMCA officials said at the time that it was losing about $80,000 a year.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.