Months after residents got their first look at concept plans for a long-awaited YMCA, senior and community center, Hopewell Township officials say the project has entered an intensive new phase of design work — with updated plans expected to be shared publicly in the coming weeks.
The project resurfaced at Monday night’s Township Committee meeting after residents from The Crossings development asked about the status of the neighborhood’s promised swimming pool, prompting questions about the larger community center proposal that township officials hope will ultimately serve both needs.
Mayor David Chait told MercerMe that work on the project has accelerated significantly since concept plans were unveiled last December.
“What I can say is especially over the last few months, the pace, frequency, attention and action has really escalated exponentially,” Chait said. “This has always been a high-priority project, but to the level of sort of top of the list has really been there.”
While Chait declined to provide a timeline for construction, he said the next round of design work is nearing completion and that township officials hope to share it with the public soon.
“I would like to get them into the public as soon as possible,” Chait said. “I think the residents deserve to get to see what’s been going on and where it’s headed.”
A project years in the making
The proposed facility, first publicly presented in December 2025, would create a shared YMCA, senior and community center on Reed Road through a partnership involving Hopewell Township, the YMCA and other community partners.
Early concept plans envisioned a two-story building featuring competitive and therapy pools, a gymnasium, fitness center, classrooms, event space and Hopewell Valley’s first purpose-built senior center.
Officials have described the building as a community “third place” where residents of all ages could gather outside of home, work or school.
“Third spaces matter,” Chait said. “It matters in a community like ours that is growing. Having these assets — especially one of this size, scale and amenities — is critically important because that third space doesn’t exist for a valley of where we’re going.”
Questions from The Crossings
Interest in the project has grown again following Monday’s Township Committee meeting, where residents of The Crossings asked about the delayed construction of recreation amenities promised as part of the Lennar development.
Earlier this year, the Township Committee amended the developer agreement, extending the timeline for construction of a neighborhood pool while officials continue pursuing the larger community center project.
The township has previously said it hopes to partner with Lennar so that, rather than constructing a standalone neighborhood pool, the developer would help support a larger community facility that could provide aquatic and recreational amenities for both development residents and the broader Hopewell Valley community.
Chait confirmed Lennar remains part of those discussions.
“They are part of that partnership in different ways in bringing this to fruition,” he said, citing road improvements and site access as examples of ongoing collaboration.
More details expected
While many questions remain — including financing, governance and the roles of various partners — township officials say the focus has been on advancing the design work so that the community can better understand what the next phase of the project will look like.
The township expects additional information and updated plans to be released in the coming weeks.
