Minnetonka signs off on buying the Marsh from the YMCA for $4.3 million

The Minnetonka City Council unanimously approved the purchase Monday of the Marsh wellness facility from the YMCA of the North for nearly $4.3 million.

Minnetonka is buying the site for less than its value and less than other offers the Y received, according to city leaders. The land and approximately 65,000-square-foot building was assessed at nearly $6 million.

"It's not an easy decision in some ways, and there's a lot of risk involved," Council Member Deb Calvert said. "I think in some ways it's a bargain. It's just not a bargain we were planning on spending money on right now."

The Y closed the facility Dec. 31, saying it wasn't financially viable after membership dropped by half since 2019. The news upset longtime members, many of whom rallied to save the Marsh, which has a restaurant, therapeutic pool, spa and fitness center.

With just two months to put together an offer to buy the 7-acre site, city officials moved unusually fast for a process that might normally take years, Mayor Brad Wiersum said.

"There's nothing typical about this situation," Wiersum said at Monday's meeting. "I just think that the city of Minnetonka will be a better place for our residents with the Marsh than it would be without the Marsh."

The Y's board still needs to approve the sale, in a vote expected by the end of the month.

The Marsh would be the second fitness facility owned by the city. A 2019 study found that Minnetonka is short on space for fitness and pool facilities, and Wiersum said the city-owned Williston Fitness Center nearby has turned away members.

Details on what's next for the Marsh are still up in the air, including what will happen to the building, whether the city will own the property long-term and what programs will operate there.

City leaders plan to hire a consultant to study how the Marsh will fit in with Williston and the city's community center, and explore how the city might partner with businesses to run services, such as the spa.

They estimate it could take up to two years to collect public feedback, figure out long-term funding for the site and decide how to revamp the aging facility. But they said they could open the pool and fitness center on a limited basis sooner.

"A lot of the timing has been difficult, in terms of just the speediness the city has had to respond," City Manager Mike Funk told the council. "We, I think, see this as a community asset that will fulfill valuable needs to our community now and into the future."

The Marsh opened in 1985, blending Eastern and Western practices at a site alongside Minnehaha Creek marshland, off Minnetonka Boulevard and west of Interstate 494. It was developed by Deephaven philanthropist Ruth Stricker and her husband, Bruce Dayton, the late retail executive who built Target Corp. and father of former Gov. Mark Dayton.

When Stricker died in 2020, her family donated the Marsh to the YMCA. Y officials have said that proceeds from the sale will be invested in well-being initiatives to honor her.

In a city survey, 90% of more than 1,300 respondents supported the city's purchase of the Marsh. At Monday's meeting, several residents and City Council members expressed frustration with the Y's abrupt closure of the center. Council Member Brian Kirk abstained from the vote because he works for the Y.

The city will fund the purchase with reserves and delay budgeted improvements to its community center. It plans to spend about $2 million to operate the building over the next two years. If the city sells any portion of the land to a developer in the next two years, city officials agreed that 30% of the profit will go to the Y.