Drawing of new YMCA center in Falmouth, shown at the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals meeting 3-27-25.
FALMOUTH – The new YMCA planned for Falmouth is continuing to gain regulatory approvals.
The Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals signed off on a special permit for the Don and Dottie Smith Upper Cape YMCA at its meeting on March 27th.
The Cape Cod Commission previously gave it the OK as a development of regional impact.
The last remaining hurdle is the approval of an I/A wastewater system by the Massachusetts DEP. Project representative Kevin Klauer said wastewater discharge was a challenge in the planning process, but he said that the Falmouth town manager and select board have assigned the Y groundwater discharge rights from a nearby town-owned parcel.
The 68,000-square-foot facility will be located on Brick Kiln Road, adjacent to Falmouth High School.
Besides the wastewater system’s denitrification feature, other considerations that have been made are traffic signal upgrades to the area, sidewalk additions, and coordinating with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority to add a dedicated bus stop.
With a star attraction of a swimming pool, Klauer said this is something Falmouth residents have wanted for decades.
The YMCA Cape Cod’s sole current facility is in West Barnstable. The organization has also expressed interest in a new community center on the Lower Cape.
The entrance of the Falmouth Y was designed with a Cape Cod motif similar to stilts and piers that are found all over the region.
The hope is to break ground in September, with completion taking two years.
A 35-million-dollar fundraising campaign received a record donation of ten-million dollars from local philanthropists Donald R. Smith and Pamela Burkes-Smith last October.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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