SeaTac Mayor Ralph Shape called it "the biggest thing to hit not just SeaTac, but all of South King County" following a groundbreaking ceremony for a new 48,000 square foot YMCA at South 188th Street and 37th Avenue South.

The new YMCA will serve Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac and Tukwila.

The facility, which will replace a YMCA five miles west in Burien, is scheduled to open in a year. Staffers expect the new building will serve 10,000 people per year, half of them under the age of 19.

King County Council Chairwoman Julia Patterson, who lives near the new Y, said the community "has been desperate for a place to meet."

She recalled the six-acre formerly site wooded used to be a troublesome teen hangout. A baby was once abandoned on the site, according to Patterson.

"It's amazing to think of the history of this property and think how it will now transform the community," Patterson declared.

Patterson said the facility will provide classes on academic and job skills for a community that has changed rapidly.

She noted the Tyee High complex, just east of the site, contains the highest percentage of Hispanics of any high school in King County.

When she graduated from Tyee in 1971, Patterson recalled there was only one student of color in the school-Steve Pool, who became KOMO-TV's chief weatherman.

Patterson noted the facility will "serve one of the poorest communities."

Employment rates are on a par with other communities but many residents work at airport jobs that pay less and do not provide health insurance, according to Paterson.

Shape noted the new Y will also "serve our municipal airport"-Sea-Tac International Airport.

"We are excited about this asset," Shape concluded.

The new Highline YMCA, which will include a fully accessible swimming pool, could affect the Mt. Rainier Pool in Des Moines.

The cities of SeaTac, Des Moines and Normandy Park as well as the Highline School District contribute to the Mt. Rainier Pool.

Shape said SeaTac's agreement with Mt. Rainier is that the city will help support it until the new YMCA is built.

The new facility will also include a gym, teaching kitchen, teen center, community meeting spaces and health and wellness facilities.

It is located across 188th Street from the Village at Angle Lake seniors apartments, the Lutheran Community Services building, Tyee, Chinook Middle, Valley Ridge Park and SeaTac City Hall.

Staffers at the YMCA of Greater Seattle broke ground a day earlier for a facility in Newcastle. Another Y in Shoreline is set to open next month.

The new YMCAs are part of the largest capital campaign in the organization's history. Officials said fundraising has surpassed 85 percent of the $40 million goal.

That includes a recently awarded $950,000 challenge grant from the Krege Foundation for the Highline project.