Logan Whichard and his daughter Layla visit the Andrew & Walter Young Family YMCA nearly every day. While Whichard is hitting the gym, Layla is participating in afterschool activities, playing soccer and sometimes gardening.
“It’s a great part of the community,” Whichard said.
The two men whose names are prominently displayed all over the facility agree. Andrew Young, the former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta mayor, and his brother Walter, a local dentist and civil rights leader, regularly walk the halls of the recreation center.
“Walter and I owe our lives to the Y,” Andrew Young said Thursday as the Atlanta Hawks announced the opening of their 10th Good Neighbor Club in metro Atlanta, this time choosing the busy center on Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta.
“You come to the Y, and you can’t help but be a good man. You can’t help but be a strong man. You can’t help but be like our mayor,” said Young, pointing to Andre Dickens, who learned how to swim and play basketball at the YMCA.
The Good Neighbor Clubs, also sponsored by State Farm, are meant to provide a space for youth to play basketball and participate in educational activities. Each has different features, based on community needs.
The new work at the Young Family YMCA added to the existing $9.6 million renovation project taking place at the center. The pool was reopened last year — with Walter Young, now 89, taking a dip in it once it was completed.
The storied location has been part of the community since 1959. The second-oldest YMCA in the metro area, it was originally named the Southwest Y.
Its importance to the area is why the location was selected by the Hawks, officials said. Through the years, it has seen thousands of kids grow into successful adults, some of whom are now city leaders.
“So many people that are in leadership in the city of Atlanta actually learned how to swim here, learned how to play basketball here,” District 11 City Council member Marci Overstreet said.
“We’ve had memberships here for decades,” she said.
Whichard said seeing those recognizable people is what makes this YMCA so special.
“When I’m leaving out, he’s coming in,” Whichard said of Walter Young. “You see him in the steam room, passing through the gym in the morning.
“It’s pretty cool that you get to see Atlanta legends walk through the door at any given time.”
As part of the new club, the basketball gym got a complete renovation: a new court, which is named after NBA legend Dominique Wilkins; new backboards and hoops; an upgraded scoreboard; new wall pads; and lighting upgrades.
On Thursday, at least 50 kids took part in basketball skill challenges, relay races and craft activities during the event.
Wilkins, who also was in attendance, said he was happy he could be part of the festivities.
“Young Family YMCA is a part of the landscape here in Atlanta,” he said, “and to be a part of that landscape, totally happy.”
The first club was opened in 2019 at William Walker Recreation Center on Fairburn Road. In addition to three other locations in Atlanta, the Hawks have opened centers in Norcross, Powder Springs, South Fulton, Decatur and College Park.
There are other clubs in the works, but Hawks officials did not share specific locations.
