Schottland Family Branch YMCA opens

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The long-awaited, $45 million Schottland Family Branch of the YMCA of Greater Rochester opened Monday amid much fanfare. As hundreds of individuals swam, ran or played ball, dozens of others attended a ribbon-cutting that was held in one of the facility’s four gymnasiums. The event was attended by Rochester business and community leaders, donors and elected officials.

Rochester YMCA President and CEO George Romell, who arrived in Rochester as the Southeast branch’s executive in 1989, said the project had brought him full circle.

“I was stunned with this great Y and I fell in love with it,” Romell said of the former Pittsford branch, which the new location replaces. “But I knew back then that something had to change. I knew someday that this community, which had supported our mission for 47 years, needed a new model. It’s very personal for me, this project.”

As YMCAs go, the Schottland Branch is the second-largest nationwide. The facility sits on 20 acres of land at Clover Street and Jefferson Road. The three-story, 140,000-square-foot branch features a daycare center and playground, a senior center, three gymnasiums that can be divided to make four, running and walking tracks, a golf simulator inside the turf gym and a community wing with a teaching kitchen and art studio.

Construction on the Schottland Family YMCA began in December 2017. Last September, Peter and Susan Schottland contributed $3.5 million to the project—the largest single donation in the YMCA’s 165-year history—for naming rights to the facility. The Schottland family have long been members and given back to the YMCA.

“YMCAs are often viewed as community centers. We have a slightly different take on that. We see ourselves as the center of the community, as a community hub,” said Kevin Washington, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA. “And that’s the vision for the Schottland Family Branch of YMCA. This will be a place where the entire community can come together. It will be a place where all people are welcome, no matter who you are, where you come from or how much money you have.”

In addition to its other amenities, the new facility features the Pettinella Aquatic Center with more than 18,000 square feet of aquatic space for participants of all ages. The aquatic center was built with the help of a $1 million gift from Edward and Ann Pettinella, both longtime YMCA members.

The Pettinella Aquatic Center features a warm water pool with a splash pad and current channel that is open for family swim. In addition, the center has a lap pool, whirlpool, sauna and steam room.

“From the inception of the project that culminates today in this magnificent facility, it was very clear to me and so many others that this was not going to be your grandfather’s YMCA. It was going to be so much more than that,” said Pittsford Town Supervisor Bill Smith. “Not just the bricks and mortar, but a completely different approach to wellness and healthy living throughout every phase of life.”

UR Medicine and YMCA in May 2018 signed an 11-year-agreement in which UR will have a presence in each of its 17 locations. The Schottland branch has the most significant UR presence—to the tune of 15,000 square feet on the branch’s first floor—which includes wellness programs, lectures, flu clinics and more.

Beginning Monday, the space has become home to Rochester Internal Medicine, part of the UR Medicine primary care network. The practice includes six physicians and two nurse practitioners who care for adult patients.

“But acute clinical care at convenient locations is just one benefit of the collaboration we announced last May,” said UR Medicine CEO Mark Taubman at Monday’s ribbon-cutting. “YMCA facilities provide thousands of people with preventive care such as flu vaccinations, nutrition education and disease management services. We also offer programs from UR Medicine specialists to help patients prepare for joint replacement surgery, to improve heart health through education and exercise or to rehabilitate after cardiac treatments.”

Additionally, the second floor is host to UR Medicine Wellness Center, which features more than 150 pieces of cardio equipment and 60 pieces of strength training equipment. An eGym resistance circuit is available exclusively at the YMCA of Greater Rochester.

“How times have changed,” said Sen. Rich Funke, R-Perinton, who grew up going to the YMCA in Batavia. “It’s a community center with a wide radius, where all ages can come to participate in programs and services that ultimately are going to make our community better and healthier, thanks to UR and Strong. Today that mission is more important than ever.”

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo, who offered Romell a proclamation at the event, said leadership takes vision, and Romell had that vision.

“George has given his heart and soul, not just to the Pittsford Y, but to the Ys throughout this community,” Dinolfo said.

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