Whether by providing child care, youth and family services, resources for food and housing assistance and more, the T. Claude and Gladys B. Ryan Family YMCA in Point Loma has served a lot of people in its 55 years, “and we want to continue to serve for … generations to come,” according to Executive Director Jonathon Collopy. That’s why the Ryan Family YMCA — previously known as the Peninsula Family YMCA — hopes for a new building to replace its current one at 4390 Valeta St., near Correia Middle School and Bill Cleator Park. “The impetus is to modernize, update and expand the 55-year-old building so we can continue to meet the demands of today and those moving forward,” Collopy said. With input and commitments from the community, a new facility could be built in about 2½ years, he said. The quest for a new building follows last year’s opening of the Rady Children’s Field, a sports field with “all the advantages to serve youth,” Collopy said. “Our soccer arena was 35-plus years old, but it got great use and had wonderful assets,” he said. “With the local Optimist Club, [the San Diego Seals] pro lacrosse team and Rady [Children’s Hospital], we were able to combine our allied interests and we held our grand opening in March a year ago.” The new field serves as a practice facility for the Seals and a site for summer camps and YMCA members at large. Collopy said the need for a new YMCA building comes from what one would expect of a 50-plus-year-old building that needs updating. “It’s the bathrooms, the windows, it’s all those things,” he said. “I have a great vision for what we can do, but I don’t want to get out ahead of myself.” He said he’s looking to go through the process of determining what the community wants and needs and how best to bring that to fruition. “As we look to update the campus with a capitalization project, it’s not just about building a new building. You need a structure that provides the means for those needs to be met and what the community will support,” Collopy said. The Y already has interviewed 800 people about what they feel are the most pressing needs, he said, and community forums are in the works. “I will have a better sense in the summer after we get feedback from the community,” Collopy said. “We’ve been having some wonderful conversations with some partners we’ve worked with in the past and some we hope to work with in the future.” More than 13,000 community members participate in the Y’s various programs, he said, and “what we heard was the overarching need … to expand the child care services we offer, more affordable and accessible care, quality child care programming for youth. We are definitely looking to include these needs in the future.” Teaching children who live in a beach community how to swim, for example, is “a lifesaving skill we are providing more than 775 middle and elementary school kids,” he said. Though the Y is well-known for its swim and gym programs, many people aren’t aware of its preschool program, as well as Childwatch, an onsite child care service available for members, Collopy said. The Y also provides before- and after-school care at Ocean Beach, Silver Gate and Barnard elementary schools and offers youth and adult camps, swim teams and more. “We have Feeding San Diego at our branch for food distribution, serving more than 250 families,” Collopy said. “We serve a lot of seniors on fixed incomes.” Adults can participate in group or personal exercise classes, parents’ nights out, holiday events, workshops such as watercolors and writing, and well-being events. Health care services include diabetes prevention and management, fitness orientations, bio scans and more. Social offerings range from hiking and cleanup events to book and card clubs and community potlucks. “One in four seniors live alone,” Collopy said. “The Y meets their needs through programs here at the branch but also through several local churches.” As many as 50 attend each senior exercise class, he said. “It’s as much about the sense of belonging as exercise.” Whatever the new building may look like, it will be part of the current 3.1-acre campus. “Our mandate is to look at how expeditiously we can accomplish this,” Collopy said. “We would like to start as soon as possible. We want to bring it to life and go full pedal to the metal.” To become involved in the project or learn more, call 619-226-8888 or go online to bit.ly/4ibgi4m.