In the spring of 2009, University YMCA directors were worried they would not be able to renovate their 72-year-old building, due to the fragile economy and a shortage of funds.

But on Wednesday crews were at work inside the building on 1001 S. Wright St. and a crane was operating off Chalmers Street, as YMCA Executive Director Mike Doyle gave a presentation in the basement about how successful the project has been.

“This has gone far further than we ever thought it might go,” Doyle said.

Members of the University YMCA gave their third presentation and lunch Wednesday to update members and affiliates about the renovation’s progress and to ask for continued support through the remaining work.

Some goals of the project include making the building — constructed in 1937 — ADA-compliant, getting a LEED-certified gold status within the next three years and removing all asbestos, which was done in May.

Doyle said he hopes most internal construction is completed by the time students return.

“Some of you, like me, have had the joy of doing a remodel of your kitchen,” said Willard Broom, member of the YMCA’s building committee. “Taking it down to the studs and starting all over again — that’s easy compared to what this organization went through on this building.”

Part of the renovation process includes student involvement in the planning and design, Doyle said.

Much of the students’ input is focused on making the building more sustainable and environmentally friendly, something they have pressured the University to do in the past.

“Part of our thing was that we needed to demonstrate the same kind of leadership that we were asking of the University, and we needed to make that commitment to adopt those practices that reflect our values,” Doyle said.

One suggestion from students was carbon dioxide detectors that detect people in order to turn off the air conditioning — something the building is currently without — when no one is there.

“If we’re really living up to our principles of being stewards of the environment, how do we change the kinds of facilities we have so that we are also sort of walking the talk?” Doyle said.

Initial resources for the project included a $500,000 state capital grant and a $250,000 mortgage. But within the last year, it has acquired over $860,000 in new funds.

With the current resources, the YMCA is about $300,000 short of the project’s $2.3 million estimated price tag. To raise more funds, they have begun to ask for smaller donations than they were initially.

“This time around, we’ve reached out to a lot of our younger alumni and said, ‘Can you do $10 a month, can you do $20 a month and can you do that for four years?’” Becca Guyette, director of development for the YMCA, said.

The YMCA has faced some challenges, including an increase in the estimated expenses from just over $1 million to over $2 million due to further renovation necessities. Doyle said he expects most internal construction for the first phase of the project will be completed as students return.

“Our target day will be early September, see where we stand on the project, where we stand on our fundraising and then try to tackle some of those other sort of things,” he said.