Photo: The check reveal of the $30 million being given by the Maddox Foundation for what will become the Dan Maddox YMCA in Hernando. Completion is set for mid-2027 after groundbreaking for the project this fall. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
By mid-2027, Hernando area residents will have access to a YMCA facility pretty much right in their backyard of sorts. The YMCA of Memphis & The Mid-South and the Maddox Foundation joined Wednesday morning for a major announcement.
Maddox Foundation President Robin Hurdle says the foundation is increasing to $30 million its donation for the $40 million facility to be built in the Delta Landing development on McIngvale Road. Developer Sky Lake Construction has already donated the land for what will be called the Dan Maddox YMCA, in honor of the late founder of the Maddox Foundation. The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi has also contributed $2 million from its donor-advised fund.
YMCA President/CEO Jerry Martin said that groundbreaking for the complex will start this fall with the expectation that the construction will be completed sometime in the first six months of 2027.
The new YMCA, the second such facility in DeSoto County after the Olive Branch Family YMCA, is expected to become a community hub, offering various programs and facilities. The push for a YMCA in Hernando, which has been underway for a quarter-century, has garnered broad support from local leaders, volunteers, businesses, highlighting a model of cooperation that could inspire other communities.
Hernando Alderman Andrew MillerHernando Mayor Chip JohnsonSky Lake Construction owner Jerry McBrideRobin Hurdle with Keith Fulcher of the Community Foundation of Northwest MississippiJerry Martin with YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South
“In the last couple of years, I’ve seen the whole town come together,” said Mayor Chip Johnson. “We’ve noticed the city falling in line. Volunteers falling in line, the Community Foundation, obviously, the Maddox Foundation, Sky Lake Construction, everyone here has been part of the team.”
Johnson pointed out the city has waived fees for building permitting, which he estimated to be in the range of $250,000. The mayor also noted that Sky Lake Construction was donating a pad-ready site for the YMCA construction.
In her remarks, Hurdle said the Delta Landing site was the perfect location for the YMCA in Hernando and was appreciative that Sky Lake Construction donated the land for it. She said the YMCA will bring programs to Hernando that it doesn’t have at this time.
“This is going to be an incredible YMCA,” Hurdle said. “It’s going to be an incredible community asset.”
Martin said the reality of a Hernando YMCA is a “confluence of the right people, right time, the right property, and the right supporters.” He added a company routinely works to learn areas that would benefit from having a YMCA and Martin said the Delta Landing location “ranked a 10 out of 10.”
He expects the groundbreaking for the Dan Maddox YMCA in Hernando will take place in late September or early October.
lmage credit 4FDesign/YMCA of Memphis & the MidSouth.
