The YMCA of Columbia-Willamette announced Friday, Aug. 1, that it no longer plans to be a part of a new recreation and community center facility in Ridgefield.
However, in the wake of the news from the YMCA, the city of Ridgefield is moving forward
with the recreation and community center project as planned, with construction scheduled to begin in spring 2026, the city announced in an Aug. 1 news release.
Matt Cole, mayor of Ridgefield, said the city had anticipated the possibility and is well prepared to continue delivering this much-anticipated facility to the community.
“It’s a disappointing outcome,” Cole told The Reflector. “Especially after so many years of working with the Y and trying to make something happen and keep the momentum up, and so we’re disappointed, but it’s not totally unexpected, either.”
Ridgefield’s vision for a family-focused recreation and community center has been in the works since 2016, the news release stated. Since the dream was established, the city has made significant progress by purchasing land, contributing to facility design, committing public
funding to the community center portion, and identifying opportunities for strategic partnerships. The YMCA had been a potential partner from early in the process, but was ultimately unable to make a financial commitment to the project, the release added.
Notably, the withdrawal from the Ridgefield facility is the third time the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette has not delivered on a project in the north Clark County or south Cowlitz County area.
“While I respect the YMCA’s decision, and they’re going to do what they have to do, which makes sense for the organization, I also believe it’s a missed opportunity for them,” Cole said. “... I also think that the way the organization is going, is they are very much anchored to Portland, the Portland metro area, and not so much north Clark County. And I think that the history shows that, and so I’m disappointed for our sake, but again, we’re going to move forward, and we’re still going to get our residents what they’ve been asking for.”
For years, a sign visible from Interstate 5 through Woodland read, “Future YMCA Home … WoodlandYMCA.org,” after the teardown of the Lakeside Motel ensued. A bond measure to fund a combined pool facility and YMCA failed in 2018 for the Woodland project, but prior reporting states that the Woodland Community Swimming Pool Committee revised the plans to just build a YMCA to start. Fast forward to now, and the land is for sale and the website link from the signage no longer exists.
Also in Battle Ground, the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette purchased 7.8 acres off of Rasmussen Boulevard with a vision for a recreation center and pool facility, but went on to later sell the property, with Jodine Dixon, a member of the community task force advocating for the pool, informing the public that the dream of a YMCA-operated pool would not come to fruition after lacking city council support in 2024.
“Unfortunately, the Y then decided to sell the property and use the proceeds for the Ridgefield project. We lost and Ridgefield won,” she wrote in a 2024 Facebook post.
Ridgefield will move on and seek a new partner to manage and maintain facilities such as the pool, basketball court and more on the recreation side of the Ridgefield project.
The Ridgefield news release stated that this fall, the city will begin actively seeking a new partner to support the recreation center component. If a partner is not identified, the facility can still be built in two phases, the release added.
The Ridgefield Recreation and Community Center project remains on schedule, the release stated. After design modifications made in June, the facility is now at 90% design and in the permitting phase. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2026. The project will be completed without raising taxes or increasing financial impacts on Ridgefield residents, the release stated.
The release added that the YMCA has shared that its Ridgefield programming, including summer camps, summer lunches, senior connections and events, will continue.
