YMCA closes Minnetonka wellness center after nearly four decades

The Marsh, a longtime wellness center in Minnetonka with a loyal following, is closing in December after nearly four decades in business.

The YMCA of the North, which has operated the center since 2020, recently announced the Dec. 31 closure, saying the center wasn't financially viable after the number of members shrunk significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

YMCA CEO Glen Gunderson, who wasn't available for an interview Tuesday, said in a statement and an email to members that the property will be sold and that most of the Marsh's operations will move to the Ridgedale YMCA. He said the number of members had dropped by half since 2019.

Proceeds from the sale, Gunderson said, will be invested in well-being initiatives to honor the legacy of Ruth Stricker, the prominent Deephaven philanthropist who started the Marsh in 1985 with her husband, Bruce Dayton, the late retail executive who built Target Corp. and was the father of former Gov. Mark Dayton. After Stricker died in 2020, her family donated the center to the Twin Cities YMCA.

For years, the Marsh was much more than a fitness center — touting amenities such as a restaurant, therapeutic pool and physical therapy.

"It was like an urban resort," said John Freivalds, a Marsh member for some 30 years. "There's nothing like the Marsh."

Before it was trendy to pair physical fitness with mental and spiritual health, Stricker — a former YWCA instructor — championed the approach. She and Dayton called the Marsh "a Center for balance and fitness" and blended Eastern and Western practices, from tai chi to treadmills.

"We're over the big rush to the perfect body," Stricker told the Star Tribune in 1990. "Now we're remembering wellness and fitness are the vehicles that enable us to do the important things in life and are not the goals themselves."

Freivalds said that was part of the draw for him, that the Marsh was not just a place to sweat but also to relax and take a class on Buddhism. The fitness industry has changed over the years, he said, and the Marsh drew an older clientele.

"Nowadays people just want to do things à la carte," he said.

For Peg Meier of Minnetonka, who was a member for 16 years, the Marsh was a place that forged new friendships and kept older adults active well into their 80s. She worked out three or four times a week at the Marsh and often would meet up with other women after a pool or studio workout to have coffee or lunch afterwards.

"It wasn't just your average Y," Meier said, adding that she's still hoping someone will buy the building and keep the Marsh going. "I'm heartbroken. I need it. I don't know what we're going to do."

Lori Johnson, another longtime member, said she worries that the Marsh's closing leaves people with mobility issues without a place to work out. The center built a strong, tightly knit community, she added.

"It's a real blessing. It's a beautiful location, it's a beautiful space," Johnson said. "It's that whole experience that's remarkable."