Westport YMCA Turn Over Former Facility to Bedford Square Associates

Ninety-one years ago, Westport philanthropist Edward T. Bedford presented to the Westport community a handsome new YMCA building on the corner of Main Street and the Post Road.
 
On Thursday, Nov. 6, volunteer leaders of the Westport Weston Family Y officially turned over possession of the downtown facility to its new owners, Bedford Square Associates.
 
“This day closes the books on a remarkable period in our Y’s history of service to our community and marks the beginning of a new era for downtown Westport,” said Pete Wolgast, Chairman of the Y’s volunteer Board of Trustees. “We thank the many Y volunteer leaders and professional staff who were involved over the years to negotiate and finalize the sale of our downtown home, which was all-important to making our long-held dream of building a modern new Y a reality.”

Wolgast made his remarks at a brief ceremony inside the lobby of the Bedford Building at which he handed over the keys to the building to its new owners, Bedford Square Associates, represented on Thursday by David Waldman and Dan Zelson.
 
The transaction concludes a purchase agreement originally reached in December 2006 between Family Y leadership and Bedford Square Associates, whose principals include David Waldman, Dan Zelson, Lance Sauerteig and Paul Brandes.
 
The agreement to purchase the property allowed the Y to continue operations at its downtown facility while additional capital funds were raised to finance the construction of a new facility at the Y’s Mahackeno campus, the longtime home of its summer day camp, two miles north of downtown Westport.