TACOMA, Wash. — On January 1, 2026, the reimagined Pearl Street Family YMCA opened its doors to Pierce County residents, delivering Phase One of a two-phase campus transformation and one of the most significant investments in the organization's 140-year history. The $34.5 million dollar west building adds a state-of-the-art aquatics center featuring a zero-entry recreational pool, lazy river, lap pool, therapy pool, sauna, and steam room along with a modern strength and conditioning area, climbing wall, and an expanded welcome center.
The new west building creates a full campus experience at the Pearl Street location. The original east building remains open and continues to house the gymnasium, cardio center, group fitness classrooms, gymnastics studio, and child watch, ensuring continuity of services while the new facilities expand access for thousands of South Sound families.
For Charlie Davis, President and CEO of the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, the grand opening was deeply personal. Davis has spent more than 40 years with the Y — beginning as a volunteer in Albuquerque before finding his calling in the Pacific Northwest. He was part of the team that opened the original Tacoma Center YMCA in 1983, making the Pearl Street expansion a genuine homecoming.
"Every day, people walk through the doors of the Y struggling with their health or feeling alone, but at the Y they find support and discover a sense of community," said Davis. "We have a deeply held commitment to serving the people of Tacoma, and the new Pearl Street Family YMCA will be a place where people find their strength and build connections for generations to come."
A highlight of the new facility is a climbing wall created in partnership with the Liz Rocks Foundation, honoring Tacoma native and mountaineer Liz Daley. The wall is designed to inspire a new generation of youth to embrace the outdoors, a fitting tribute in a region defined by its mountains, trails, and wild places.
Construction of Phase One was funded largely through community generosity donations from local individuals, families, and foundations whose belief in the Y's mission made the project possible. Phase Two, which is contingent on continued fundraising, will bring additional gymnasiums, a teen center, racquetball and squash courts, a cycling studio, an indoor walking track, and more. Once Phase Two is complete, the current east building is slated for demolition, fully realizing the campus vision.
For Pierce County residents, the new Pearl Street Family YMCA is more than a gym, it is a gathering place built on four decades of community investment, and a promise that the best chapters of the Y's story are still being written.