YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg honored with Community Impact Award by Tampa Bay Business Journal

ST. PETERSBURG, FL | 12/15/2022 – YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg’s partnership with the Pinellas County School Board to build the Speer YMCA in collaboration with a new middle school earned the organization the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Community Impact Award. The award was presented at an event held by the publication on Thursday, Dec. 15 that recognized the area’s most prominent real estate deals.

Construction on the project began in June 2022, but has been in the works for seven years.  The 19-acre site of the former Riviera Middle School will be home to a 111,757-square-foot, two-story building with shared facilities to be used by the middle school and the YMCA. It will include a cafeteria, a family consumer science lab and a gymnasium.

Students and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods will have access to the Y’s facilities, programs, childcare services, youth sports, fitness activities and aquatics.

“We are incredibly proud to bring this joint project to the community in collaboration with Pinellas County Schools,” said David Jezek, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg. “The impact of Y services on the community will be enhanced by the partnership with programming and services for everyone from infants and toddlers to seniors.”

St. Pete-based Wannemacher Jensen and Harvard Jolly are joint project architects. Construction management is headed up by Creative Contractors. The YMCA is planned to open in December 2023, with the school opening with the start of the 2024-2025 school year.