Barrie’s YMCA is looking to move, which could pave the way for affordable housing in the downtown.

The YMCA wants to sell its current location, but before they can do that it wants to get the property re-zoned from institutional to residential.

“I do know that if we are able to re-zone, the value does go up. So it is in our best interest to get the maximum value of the property to be able to move and fund a new Barrie ‘Y’,” says spokesperson Karen Pulla.

The YMCA wants that new location to be somewhere in the downtown area, but that can't happen without a sale.

The Y submitted its re-zoning application this week. Pulla says they're working with a developer that has promised to build affordable housing on the land.

The application calls for four towers that are 19 to 22 storeys high with a total of 924 units.

“We have a high need of rental units and with the amount of rental units that will be built on this site that will increase the rental units in Barrie by 26 per cent.”

The existing building was built in 1964. A new one is expected to cost $25 million, but the YMCA won't say how much it could get through the sale. 

Urban design reports, traffic studies and even soil samples have already been given to the city. There’s no word yet when a decision will be made on the re-zoning application.

The YMCA says it could take 12 years before they end up in a new home.