R. Richard Bittner YMCA

The 75,000 sq.ft. R. Richard Bittner YMCA at 4th Street and East River Drive in Davenport is the newest YMCA facility in the Quad Cities.  Inside the front door, three features will catch your eye – the shimmering surfaces of two swimming pools, one five-lane pool set up for lap swimming and one with a small slide and a spray feature that will host lessons, water exercise and family swims. Tucked behind it all is a huge hot tub. Also on the first floor is a multi-purpose studio that could be used for everything from Y board meetings to yoga and kids gymnastics. Behind the pool, there are three locker rooms with showers — men’s, women’s and families’ — plus two steam rooms and saunas. Also on the main floor of the facility, is a 7,000 sq.ft. space located on the northeast corner, which is the home to the Midwest Cardiac Research Foundation.

The second floor consists of the gymnasium, flooded with LED lighting, encircled by a one-eighth-mile walking track up above. There is also a spinning room that is packed with 31 stationary bicycles where members can go to exercise as a group and was designed with a party-style atmosphere. The bicycle wheels spin, as does a disco ball mounted in the ceiling, projecting splotches of multi-colored light around the room. At the front of the room is a TV screen on which can project various cycling courses around the world.  Also on this floor are Cybex exercise machines, an exercise studio with a wood floor for “bounce” rooms for racquetball, handball and squash. There are also social areas and larger restrooms on this floor which will be able to accommodate up to 120 children – ages kindergarten through sixth grade that are expected to be enrolled in summer day camps.

The third floor has a fitness room overlooking the Mississippi River and is filled with all-new Matrix exercise machines, equipped with technology to allow you to watch Netflix as you work out. There is also an area with artificial turf intended for members working with a personal trainer. The 500-square-foot outdoor exercise deck has full views of the Mississippi River and is one of the first outdoor YMCA decks in the country.

Our teams engineered, designed and provided the electrical system, LED lighting, lighting controls, addressable fire alarm system, low voltage cabling, phone system, audio/visual equipment and a paging system were installed throughout the new facility. During construction, our teams worked together with the other trades to provide a project schedule defining the design, procurement, and construction of the project, along with a detailed execution plan.