Southeast Raleigh YMCA + WCPSS Elementary

Project Overview

The Southeast Raleigh YMCA and WCPSS Elementary School is part of a collective vision to lift families out of generational poverty by providing access to education, recreation, affordable housing, healthy food, healthcare and public transportation. Holt Brothers Construction is intimately involved in this “purpose-built community,” having raised money for the capital campaign, donated funding to support the cause and having served as the CM@Risk partner.

Besides housing the YMCA and the elementary school, the project includes parking areas, access and perimeter roads, landscaping, playing fields, playgrounds, an outdoor aquatics center, community gardens and sidewalks. The building encompasses approximately 35,000 square feet to be used by the YMCA and approximately 75,000 square feet for the school. The development also includeS affordable housing, office and retail space to potentially include healthcare options and access to healthy food. The YMCA and school facilities opened in 2019 and serve 500 children and families.

The construction team was fully committed to achieving the goal of 35 percent minority business participation on this project. For this project, Holt Brothers Construction went one step further, creating a diversity and community engagement plan focused on six key areas of Purpose Built Communities ™ that advance a cradle-to-career, collective impact mission for Southeast Raleigh.

The finished facility balances all of the amenities of a regional YMCA: full-size gymnasium, wellness center, two aerobics group fitness rooms, an indoor track, locker rooms, an outdoor aquatics center, and an athletics field with a shelter structure — and a 503-student elementary school with 32 classroom spaces for grades PK-5, a media center, multiple learning commons, a commercial kitchen, administrative student support spaces, and outdoor play areas. Shared spaces, like the gym, cafeteria, and community kitchen, are centrally situated for optimal use.