The growing population in Kamloops is promoting further development downtown.

The president of the YMCA-YWCA, Colin Reid, says the group has been working on the proposal for more than a year for its location on Battle Street.

It also includes three lots its own to the east of the current facility.

“You know a mixed use development would obviously have you and community space,” Reid said.

“Obviously its downtown Kamloops so have got to do something around underground parking and in most likely it’s going to have some form of housing above the development site.”

“So it will be a mixture of new construction and possibly a second phase of renovated construction on the existing building.”

Reid says the plan is to build a facility that will last the community another 40 or 50 years.

“The biggest challenge at the existing building is the change rooms,” added Reid. “They’re small, and they were designed for children, so all that space needs to be renovated.”

“The best way to do that is to build new ones, instead of renovating the old ones.”