Swim school sought for Yonkers

The operators of Goldfish Swim Schools in New Rochelle and Yorktown Heights are seeking approvals from Yonkers to open a facility at 2422 Central Park Ave. Whager Three LLC would be making improvements to a building just north of the intersection of East Fort Hill Road and Central Park Avenue. The site covers approximately 0.90 acre. The building was formerly occupied by Mount Sinai Doctors and currently is vacant, according to Attorney Janet Giris of the White Plains-based law firm DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLC.

Goldfish Swim School was founded in 2006 in Birmingham, Michigan by Chris and Jenny McCuiston. In 2009, their first franchise opened in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The company has grown to have 150 outlets in 34 states and Canada.

According to Giris, the existing 8,400-square-foot building would be modified for use including changes to the parking area that would include repair and restriping and the addition of three landscaped islands and a new trash enclosure. The number of parking spaces would be reduced from the current 52 to 49.

Giris said that there would be “extensive improvements to the existing façade of the building, including patching, repairing and painting the exterior walls, the addition of a new canopy, new light fixtures, and new signage. The existing main entrance along Central Park Avenue will be relocated to the rear of the building at the southeast corner. The new entrance at the rear has been designed to be ADA compliant with a new entry ramp and new stairs into the building.”

Giris said that the applicant believes that the proposed changes “are not only aesthetically appealing, but are a significant enhancement over the existing conditions.”

Typical features of a Goldfish Swim School include an indoor swimming pool heated to 90 degrees year-round, a state-of-the-art water purification system, a viewing gallery for parents from which they can watch their children swim, and a snack bar and pro-shop. In addition to swim classes and individual instruction, the schools offer family passes for recreational swimming and also make the pools available for parties and special events.

In December 2021, shortly after opening the swim school in New Rochelle, owner Gillian Graves told the Business Journal said that she and her husband were on the lookout for other potential Goldfish Swim School sites.

“The pools are very site-specific, geared toward children,” Graves said. “They are no more than four feet deep across the entirety of the pool, so there’s no deep end. For both of our locations, we put the investment into the space that we’re leasing. We took down multiple storefronts to combine to create these spaces. You need to find spaces that don’t have a lot of columns because you’re building a large pool.”

Graves added, “Everyone’s having a good time so it feels good to be running a business that has been so well received but also is teaching something that’s lifesaving as well. This has been a really positive experience.”