The old industrial YMCA building on Mitchell Avenue has stood in disrepair for years, the care of its crumbling Spanish Revival architecture falling to the city’s homeless.
That changed when the building recently was issued a temporary certificate of occupancy to host a meeting for city officials.
Renovations are 60 percent complete at the four-story landmark, and work is on schedule to hit its $1.25 million target, said architect Terry Barker, partner at River Street Architecture.
Barker has reimagined the old YMCA as a 30,000-square-foot outdoor education hub and family-friendly hostel, to be called BaseCampChattanooga.
It will retain most of the beauty and timelessness of the original 1927 design, he said, which will save money and allow guests to spend the night for an average of around $40.