Greater Austin YMCA officials announced May 13 that the upcoming Four Points YMCA facility is expected to be complete by late 2028.
The facility will be named the Schmetterling YMCA following a $15 million gift from The Schmetterling Foundation that will push construction forward.
The details
According to officials, the new facility is slated to feature:
- 9 acres of outdoor space with fitness areas
- Basketball and pickleball sports courts
- An aquatics complex with outdoor year-round swimming
- A full indoor fitness and wellness center
- Group fitness studios
- Drop-in child care and a youth maker space for science, technology, art and cooking
- A coworking lounge
- Community gathering spaces
A closer lookThe Schmetterling Foundation's $15 million investment will fund construction costs for the facility, marking Phase 2 of the YMCA Four Points project, said Kathy Kuras, Greater Austin YMCA president and CEO.
"This is a culmination of something that's been building, really, for a long time," Kuras said. "Families in the Four Points area started a Change.org petition back in 2013 asking for a YMCA in their community. So [it's] a very grassroots effort."
Between that petition and today, local leaders worked to find properties that could host a YMCA facility, Kuras said. After purchasing the current property in 2022, the organization later connected with Colleen and Jim Clark of The Schmetterling Foundation who invested $3 million toward Phase 1 of the project—the YMCA Tomorrow Academy, which opened in 2025 and provides early education for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.
"Schmetterling is the German word for butterfly, and the reason they have that name is when they think about young people growing up and through their youth development and education, that is not that dissimilar from a caterpillar becoming a butterfly," Kuras said. "There's challenges and all sorts of things that come along the way, but part of their dedication to education is wanting to to invest in organizations that are focused on education and focused on the community."
Looking ahead
The YMCA will continue to raise money for the new facility through a community campaign, which Kuras said will strengthen the organization's ability to open with the programs, resources and financial assistance needed to serve its families.
Once permits are filed, the facility could see construction break ground near the end of this year or early next year, Kuras said.
