Rosemount YMCA Feasible, Community Survey Results Suggest

A Rosemount YMCA developed in partnership with Dakota County Technical College would have a "solid" membership base and revenue streams, according to the results of a recent community survey.

Rosemount city officials, working together with DCTC and the YMCA, hired Anderson, Niebuhr & Associates, Inc. to conduct a telephone survey earlier this year of 350 Rosemount residents. The Twin Cities-based market research company also sent an online survey to an equal number of full-time DCTC students.

The vast majority of residents who submitted responses, 89 percent, said they were interested in seeing a YMCA become part of the community, with 57 percent of respondents expressing some level of interest in joining. Of those interested in joining, most said they would enroll for a family membership.

Click here to review the full survey findings.

Basing its projections on the those results, the surveyers estimated a YMCA built on the northwest corner of the DCTC campus as part of a joint venture could draw in as many as 2,857 annual members with a projected annual revenue ranging between roughly $2.9 million and $3.5 million.

In additional to the residential memberships, the proposed Y could see nearly 800 student members. Roughly three-quarters of students who responded said they were interested in seeing a YMCA on campus, according to survey results.

OTHER KEY FINDINGS:

• When asked about possible features at the YMCA, most survey-takers said they were primarily interested in cardio equipment, an indoor running track and weight machines. 63 percent of residents surveyed and 74 percent of students surveyed were interested in an indoor pool.

• A YMCA wouldn't be without competition in the area. Roughly four in 10 residents and one-third of students currenly belong to a fitness facility, and most plan to renew their current membership. For that reason, surveyers note that a YMCA, if constructed, would have to distinguish itself from pre-existing fitness facilities by focusing on its community mission.

• Of those surveyed, most said the biggest factor on whether they would join is the affordability of membership. The availability of water facilities and group fitness classes also ranked highly for students, while youth programs and cleanliness would factor in for residents.