Nir Family YMCA Reopens Its 6-Lane Pool After $1.2 Million in Renovations

The Nir Family YMCA is reopening its 6-Lane Pool on Wednesday, September 20th, after completing major capital renovations, including a new roof and pool deck. In celebration of the reopening, the YMCA of Southeastern NC will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 19th, at its Nir Family YMCA (2710 Market Street Wilmington, NC 28403). Members and the community are invited to join us for this celebratory event.

The Nir Family YMCA, formerly known as the Wilmington Family YMCA, was originally built in 1965, and included a gymnasium, swimming pool, lockers, kitchen, handball courts and other facilities to make it one of the most modern YMCA buildings in the state. The Jean Greene Natatorium, commonly known as the 6-Lane Pool, was later added in 1991, to better serve the aquatics community here in Wilmington.

For more than 100 years, the YMCA has taught invaluable water safety and swimming skills to prevent drownings in our community. Additionally, the Nir Family YMCA has been home to many youth swim teams, Masters Swim teams, lap swimmers and water aerobics participants, serving thousands of individuals weekly.

After 32 years of operation, the 6-Lane Pool required major renovations for the safety of members and guests, including a new retractable roof, updated pool deck, new insulated glass windows and doors and new pool equipment for an improved aquatics experience. The $1.2 million-dollar renovation will be completed in two phases. The first phase will help to extend the life of the Nir Family YMCA’s aquatics facility for another 30+ years. The second phase will include a new hot tub facility. The construction of the new hot tub will begin later this year as part of the second phase of renovations.

“We knew that we needed a new roof to sustain the lifespan of the pool, but we were overwhelmed by the amount of charitable support we received to help enhance our facility not only with the 6-lane pool renovations but with a new hot tub so that we can better serve our members and guests,” said Shannon Berg, Executive Director of the Nir Family YMCA. “The YMCA is a community asset, and it is inspiring to see members of the community rally to give back and help improve the facilities and amenities that we offer.”

Capital renovations of the 6-Lane Pool were funded entirely by charitable contributions made by Oaz Nir of New York, who previously contributed $2 million toward the rebuilding of this YMCA facility after a fire in 2015. The YMCA facility located at 2710 Market St. is now known as the Nir Family YMCA in recognition of his family’s many contributions to the organization and our community. The second phase, which includes the addition of a hot tub is still in progress, receiving contributions from YMCA members and a matching gift from Oaz Nir to ensure that the project will be fully funded upon re-opening. 

“The YMCA is an important part of the Wilmington community, and a major part of my family’s life and work. It is an honor to help support it,” said Oaz Nir.

The Nir Family YMCA’s 6-Lane Pool will reopen to members and guests at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 3:00pm on Tuesday, September 19 and is open to the public. For more information about the YMCA’s pool reopening visit www.ymcasenc.org or call the Membership Desk at 910-251-8196.