Preis donates land for Howell Place YMCA

Construction will start in late spring or early summer on a 12,000-square-foot YMCA branch in the Howell Place development in north Baton Rouge. Richard Preis, who is developing Howell Place, donated a 2.8-acre tract along 72nd Avenue, near Howell Boulevard, to the YMCA of the Capital Area. The land is valued at $900,000. “This all goes back to why I did Howell Place,” Pries says. “It’s about bringing services to the people vs. people having to go to the services.” The Howell Place YMCA, which should open in August or September 2010, will cater to employees of the nearby ExxonMobil and Baton Rouge Coca-Cola plants, as well as Southern University and residents of Baker and Zachary. The state has put aside $850,000 in capital outlay funds for the project, says Bob Jacobs, president and CEO of the Capital YMCA. This will be the seventh YMCA facility in the Capital Region. Jacobs says the site is “nicely put together” and next to BREC ballparks and walking trails.—Timothy Boone