By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
The YWCA of Northwest Toledo’s building on Jefferson has just undergone a major renovation. Phase 1 of the multimillion-dollar project has just been completed. Phase 1 is underway.
For years now, decades even, the building has presented staff and the residents with a multitude of problems, said Lisa McDuffie, CEO, during last week’s open house and Phase 1 celebration. McDuffie, who has been with the YWCA for 30 years, spent most of those 30 years dealing with the numerous problems presented by a facility built during the 1950s.
The roof, she said, had been patched so many times, contractors said there were no places left to patch. The electricity was so bad that it was nearly impossible to heat the facility properly in the winter and just as difficult to cool it in the summer heat. The plumbing, said McDuffie, was “delicate” and would frequently shut down.
“Repairs were astronomical,” said McDuffie. “We were throwing money out of the window, money that could be used for programming.”
Beyond that, the living quarters set aside for women and their children desperately in need of shelter were “little cinderblock rooms [like those on] a cell block,” McDuffie recalled.
All that has now changed. A change that began several years ago when McDuffie received a call from a representative of MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist and early contributor to Amazon. The caller said that the YWCA of Northwest Ohio had been awarded a grant, without restrictions, of $2 million. Four thousand non-profits had initially been examined for such grants, that number narrowed to 2,000 and eventually 384 were awarded.
That got the ball rolling. ProMedica and Owens Corning each came through with seven figure donations. The state of Ohio, City of Toledo and the Lucas County Commissioners all were able to use American Rescue Plan dollars to aid the renovation.
Not that all went smoothly, what was originally forecast as a $12 million project ballooned to more than $17 million during the pandemic. But due to the diligence of the four campaign chairs of the development project (Sara Jane DeHoff, Rita Mansour, Cynthia Thompson, Lori Johnston) the plans came together and the fundraising continued.
And it came together quickly because the ARP government entity dollars had to be spent in a hurry. Now the first floor is complete; the second floor’s 11 new resident living spaces for the Domestic Violence Shelter, staff offices and children’s play area are also complete.
There has also been asbestos remediation; mechanical, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems overhaul and a bedrock foundation installation in the former swimming pool area.
Phase 2 will include a library, computer room and training center on the second floor and third floor renovation that will mirror the development on the second floor.
All in all a remarkable achievement and a testament to the ability of community leaders working together for such a necessary cause.