Oct 25, 2012 2 min read

Renovating the former Washington YWCA to house a headquarters and training center for Tri-County Patriots for Independent Living will cost $8.6 million, and the organization is seeking about $2.5 million from foundations and donations. “We’ve never done a capital campaign,” Kathleen Kleinmann, TRIPIL executive director, said Thursday. “This is new. I’m a little bit nervous.” Rich Cleveland, local grant writer and consultant, said the $2.5 million includes an application for $1 million from the local share account of gambling proceeds from The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, just a stone’s throw away from a fundraising and informational breakfast meeting Thursday morning at the Double Tree Hotel. TRIPIL has spent $500,000 to buy the former YWCA and an adjacent lot at 42 W. Maiden St., and it has commitments of $5.5 million, Cleveland said. Former state Rep. Leo Trich Jr., chairman of the TRIPIL Development Committee, said Thursday morning’s gathering of about 25 people was the first in a series of breakfasts and luncheons to be scheduled during the coming months to disseminate the fundraising message. “This facility is designed for the needs of the community, not just for the needs of TRIPIL,” Trich said. It includes an Internet cafe, meeting rooms, a gymnasium with equipment for physical rehabilitation and an auditorium. The organization also is seeking a buyer for its current building at 69 E. Beau St., which once was a bank. Washington’s first YWCA in Washington dates to 1909, and the West Maiden Street building, which cost $214,000 to build and furnish, was dedicated in 1929. Its many uses have included a residence for working women, a soup kitchen, meeting rooms for more than 40 organizations and a child care center, but it has been vacant for about 10 years. “It will be very nice to see life across the street from City Hall,” said Washington Mayor Brenda Davis. “People coming and going to activities is going to be a wonderful thing.” Peg Wilson, 82, of Washington, said her memories of the YWCA are vibrant. “We used to go to Friday night dances,” she recalled. “They had all the social events for the community. It was just the place to hang out back in the ’40s.'” Rick Zatta, former president of the Washington County History and Landmarks Foundation, said he was notified in August the state Historic and Museum Commission deemed the former YWCA eligible for historic status.