SANFORD — It could be called a “win-win.” Sanford-Springvale YMCA and Southern Maine Health Care are now working together to provide better health for area residents.

The arrival in December of SMHC’s Sports Performance Center will allow the Y to complete its expansion, which has been in the works for the past seven years.

SMHC will lease 4,700 square feet of the Y’s existing facility to expand its Sports Performance Program, which began more than two years ago in Saco. As a “final push” to get to the finish line after years of support from the Sanford-Springvale Y family, revenue generated by the lease contract will be used to assist with completion of the Y’s expansion project. 

“We’ll have it done in four more months,” John Roux of the YMCA’s board of directors told Sanford City Council in an update on Tuesday. He said they hope to hold a ribbon cutting early this fall.

The expansion effort began in 2011. The lion’s share of the $4 million project cost has been raised and the expansion’s exterior is virtually complete – with just some interior work remaining that  expands the space from 26,000 square feet to 48,000 square feet.

The project has wide community support. As an example of many generous donations, Roux on Tuesday told the council that a a local businessman who made his first pledge to help the YMCA back when he was 17 years old recently made another, heftier pledge than the one 50 years ago.  Roux told the City Council that Richard Lolley and his wife Pamela have pledged $100,000 to the project.

On a tour of the unfinished interior of the new space late last year, YMCA officials pointed out a vast new wellness center, an array of new program spaces, and a community center for teens – a safe place to hang out and socialize — will be featured in the new, expanded Y.  There will also be room for more preschoolers, and now, the sports performance center, which will locate in the current preschool space, once the addition is complete.

“We’re very excited to come to Sanford,” said SMHC Sports Performance Center Manager Rick Sirois. 

SMHC spokeswoman Sue Hadiaris said the two programs will work well together.

“We’re thrilled with the opportunity to work with the YMCA,” she said.

“We believe the resources, expertise, and specialized skills of both organizations will create separate opportunities that support our shared commitment to fostering a culture of health and well-being,” said YMCA Director Andy Orazio in a statement.

SMHC recently received a bequest of $250,000 from former Sanford resident, Dorothy “Dal” Weber, which will support the opening of the new SMHC Sports Performance Center.

Weber was born in Sanford to Leland and Eleanor (Prescott) Littlefield and grew up in the community. While she lived her adult life in California, she never abandoned her Maine roots and often returned “home” to visit, SMHC officials said.

“We are extremely grateful to Mrs. Weber for empowering this partnership that will provide her hometown community with a healthier future,” said SMHC President Ed McGeachey in a statement.

The SMHC Sports Performance Center specializes in providing athletes with supervised and customized programs designed to prevent injuries, optimize physical performance and maximize recovery from injury. SMHC’s Sports Performance Center staff is already providing athletic training at Sanford High School and their new location will give local athletes of all ages the opportunity to receive training and treatment closer to home, SMHC officials said.

The new SMHC Sports Performance Center is expected to open in December.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.