Bemidji YMCA plans approved, organization officially coming to town

The 100 block of Minnesota Avenue is one step closer to becoming a 60,000-square-foot YMCA, after facility plans were approved and Bemidji’s long-running downtown project moved deeper into development.

Kraus-Anderson’s Bemidji office was selected to build the new facility in the Bemidji Rail Corridor, and JLG Architects is designing the building. The project is part of Greater Bemidji’s “Building Our Future” effort and is being framed as both a wellness center and an economic-development project for downtown Bemidji.

The price tag is $35 million. Project financing is built around a $25 million community fundraising goal and $10 million in YMCA financing, a structure that puts private giving at the center of the plan while still relying on public investment in the site itself. The City of Bemidji received a second cleanup grant for the rail corridor in January 2025 and committed a 25% local match, underscoring the public cost of preparing the land for redevelopment.

That site is not simple build-ready property. The rail corridor parcel covers about 19 acres and has been contaminated with petroleum and other pollutants, meaning cleanup and infrastructure work have to happen before the YMCA can rise. Greater Bemidji’s timeline calls for cleanup and site prep in spring 2026, with groundbreaking and construction targeted for summer 2026 if fundraising reaches the $25 million mark.

The building is expected to reshape everyday access to fitness and youth programming in Bemidji. Earlier plans described features including an indoor track, aquatics center, indoor playground, party rooms, fitness center, weight room, exercise studios, education classrooms and drop-in childcare. In practical terms, that would put swimming, indoor walking, exercise space, family activities and child care under one roof in downtown Bemidji.

The project has also gone through several versions as partners changed. In 2024, Greater Bemidji brought forward the YMCA concept with the YMCA of Northern Sky as an anchor partner, and earlier plans had Sanford Health expected to own and operate the center before the health system stepped away. Later materials also tied the effort to the YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties as the project continued to evolve.

For Bemidji, the approval marks a major step in a civic project that has moved from concept to site preparation. If the fundraising goal holds, the rail corridor could shift from cleanup and planning to visible construction this summer.