UTICA — The building that once housed the YWCA Mohawk Valley in downtown Utica will undergo redevelopment as a new multipurpose facility.

The Utica Center for Redevelopment purchased the 122-year-old building, located at 1002 Cornelia St., in October 2021 for $500,000. The organization intends to refurbish the building's indoor swimming pool for year-round public use, as well as provide housing for veterans and office spaces for youth programs.

The former building tenant YWCA Mohawk Valley is now located at 7 Rutger Park in Utica.

Vincent Scalise, founder and executive director of Utica Center for Development, is preparing for the building's first phase of redevelopment, which includes updating the indoor swimming pool.

"We're actually hoping to be able to have some final prints here soon and go out to bid next month so we can actually start construction on that," Scalise said.

The pool will receive mechanical upgrades, a new filtration system, new walls and sealants, as well as new locker rooms and a cardio room.

Scalise is estimating construction for the first phase of redevelopment will begin this fall. Once the first phase is complete, Scalise expects the pool to be open for public use, while the building continues with its next phases of redevelopment.

The next phases include providing updated office spaces for youth programs on the first floor and housing for veterans on the upper floors.

The building is already providing space for Wilson's Cops and Kids, a free youth program that teaches children ages 8 through 18 the fundamentals of boxing and provides mentorship from boxing coach Willie Wilson and the Utica Police Department.

Currently, the Utica Center for Development operates 30 units of studio and one-bedroom apartments for veterans in Utica. With the purchase of the YWCA Mohawk Valley building, the organization will be able to provide 8 larger housing units to accommodate both veterans and their families.

The building will be named after Reverend Dr. Mary Webster who lobbied extensively for funding to assist Scalise and the Utica Center for Development in their purchase of the building and the building's redevelopment efforts.

"I'm a lifelong Utican, born and raised," Scalise said. "I spent most of my life seeing iconic buildings torn down in the city. I'm glad and I'm excited and proud of the fact that I can be somebody who's stopping that trend and actually refurbing these iconic buildings and keeping our history alive."

Redevelopment of the building is expected to be completed by 2024.