YMCA Announces “Important First Steps” In Barrie

Barrie City staff will begin negotiations for a land use agreement with the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka for a new downtown site. This follows Monday night’s decision by council to move forward with plans to reinvent Fisher Auditorium as an event centre in a land swap with HIP Developments – who bought Barrie Central Collegiate. In a release to our Newsroom, YMCA CEO Rob Armstrong said they want to build a “new kind of Y,” that would be a“hub” and the “centre of community.” Armstrong called it “a great step towards being able to officially announce plans for a new Barrie Y on the former Central Collegiate site.”

READ MORE: SURPASSING A LARGE HURDLE IN MAKING THE FISHER AUDITORIUM A REALITY

As part of the deal approved by council, the City will keep Fisher Auditorium and the developer will get some adjacent land & Red Storey Field. It is hoped the Fisher Auditorium will become a 400-seat event centre, with a standing room capacity of 800 people, full kitchen, meeting rooms, and theatre system installed.

Fisher Auditorium Rendering