Breaking ground on June 12, 2015, local children, donning hard hats, helped turn the first shovel full of dirt. Dustin White photo

Dustin White
Editor

It’s been over half a decade since talks began about bringing a YMCA to the city of Mandan. At times, it seemed as if the recreational center would never come to fruit; however, with a number of entities moving forward, the plan continued to maintain some life. Now, that plan has become a reality

Announcing a $12.3 million recreation center, a partnership between Sanford Health and the Missouri Valley Family YMCA called Family Wellness, allowed for the facility to be opened in January, 2017. 

Getting to this point has not been an easy task though. 



“This hasn’t been without its hurdles and barriers, and it’s taken both parties to see it through,” Bill Bauman, Bismarck YMCA Executive Director, said in a 2013 interview. “We’re being creative in what we are doing. But the end goal is to bring a YMCA to the community of Mandan. This is a great location, and I think we’ll be great neighbors,” he told the park board.

Those hurdles began from the beginning of the planning. Dealing with who would own the land and how it was to be paid for posed a couple of difficulties. However, one of the largest hurdles was finding a location for the center. 

Having found what appeared to be an ideal location, an unused portion of land immediately south of Raging Rivers, initial offers to purchase it were rejected. With an out of town private buyer having already offered to buy the land, the project became slow moving. However, it wasn’t dead. 

Not wanting to let go of that location, as it provided a central destination for the center, the Park Board worked with the buyers to come to a deal. 

It would only be about four months later, in July of 2013, that an agreement was made. For $1.7 million, the park district had acquired the 5.25 acres from Gas U UP LLC. In order to help this cost, the Mandan City Commission had previously approved to set aside money to be disbursed to help with the purchase. 

However, there was still a major hurdle to over come: funding. Being able to tap into a number of resources, the money did begin to come in. With at least $2 million of the project coming from public fundraising, the community has been brought together to see this facility come to light.

The entire process has largely been about community building, and bringing together a variety of partners.  

“Sanford is committed to being a strong community partner,” Craig Lambrecht, MD, Sanford Bismarck president, said. ”This project is bringing together the region’s most recognized family fitness organization and the region’s largest health care system. We will undoubtedly be able to best serve our growing community’s wellness needs by working together.”

With most of the moving parts in place, it still would be nearly another year before a more concrete plan was officially announced on Aug. 11, 2014. 

Just a year later, ground was broken for the Family Wellness facility, on June 12, 2015.

Representing future generations that would benefit from the facility, children in hardhats were at the front of the event. Participating in the ceremonies, they were eager to remove dirt in the area where they will have the chance to improve their health. 

Originally scheduled for completion in the fall of 2016, a few set backs occurred. But work carried on, allowing the facility to officially open in January. 

For more information about Family Wellness, visit www.Familywellnessbisman.com