McKinley YMCA Sold, to Revert Back to Mansion

An old mansion in Champaign that was converted into the McKinley YMCA could soon become a mansion once again.

Local developer Leon Jeske has purchased the McKinley Y from the Champaign County YMCA for $450,000. He plans to restore the century-old building, and lease it out as a private residence. Jeske stepped in after earlier plans to sell the square-block site to Owens Funeral Home fell through.

Jeske said the building is in essentially good shape. He said much of its interior features are unchanged, despite decades of use by the YMCA.

"They put in some ceiling tiles --- like acoustical tiling, one foot square," Jeske said. "That's not original. But the woodwork is all intact, even where they added a partition or wall, they did not disturb the crown moldings, they just kind of went over them, cut around them. So everything's there."

Jeske said he hasn't yet decided what to do with the adjoining carriage house, or the additions built for the building's YMCA use, including an indoor swimming pool. But he said the additions have separate entrances and could be converted into apartments, and he said the site also has commercial potential.

"It's right across the street from Westside Park," Jeske explained. "I could see a small cafeteria-type restaurant that could serve coffee and cake, and maybe a glass of wine, with a lot of outdoor seating where you could overlook the park."

Jeske said a restaurant would require a zoning change, but he said the site is appropriate for that sort of use.

The facility will continue as the McKinley YMCA until the Champaign County Y's new facility in southwest Champaign is ready to open next year. CEO Mark Johnson said construction of the new facility is moving ahead on schedule, and until it's completed, they're leasing the McKinley "Y" back from Jeske on a month-to-month basis.