February 20, 2025

Newton YMCA sale of Aces to Grace Church complete

By MIKE MENDENHALL

Grace Church Pastor Dan Hayton stands in the temporary worship area at the church’s new location in the former Aces Teen Center in Newton. The church recently purchased the facility from the Newton YMCA for $225,000, as the Y tries to consolidate its property holdings.

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In an effort to maintain financial solvency, the Newton YMCA completed another step in its efforts of property consolidation this month with the sale of the former Aces Teen Center at 1620 N. 11th Ave. E. to Grace Church.

Newton Y Executive Director Tom Vanderlaan said in a phone interview that the property sale was completed on June 1 for $225,000 — less than half of the Jasper County assessed value of $675,100. Aces, donated to the Newton Y by the Jasper County Teen Foundation in 2008, was meant to be a safe place for Newton teens to congregate and stay active with a gym, skateboard ramps and other facilities on site.

Vanderlaan said the money from the purchase will go toward improvements of the Y’s main facility at 1701 S. Eighth Ave. E. The director indicated the organization was not ready to announce what areas of the Y would be receiving upgrades, but facility leaders are nearing a plan.

“We’re in the planning stages. We’re close to knowing some of that information,” he said.

Now owned by Grace Church, Aces is being transformed into a contemporary worship center for a Christian congregation. During a tour of the new church location Wednesday evening, Pastor Dan Hayton said the 5,000-square-foot sanctuary currently undergoing construction is a long way from Grace Church’s March 2006 beginnings at Newton’s DMACC Campus.

“This building has a gym, which will help us attract the youth,” Hayton said. “Plus, having more room to fit all ages is an advantage.”

Grace later moved to a 1,300-square-foot building at 300 W. Fourth St. N., which was recently acquired by Skiff Medical Center to build a new specialty clinic.

The new church currently has an industrial look, with plywood paneling lining walls of steel sheets. Until the construction of a stage and other utilities in the sanctuary, the Grace congregation has set up in the former Aces foyer. Hayton said the church has held two Sunday services in its new location, with a temporary platform erected for a praise band in front of padded chairs for its roughly 170 members.

Hayton said the original group worshipping at DMACC was comprised of 35 people, so the purchase of Aces is a definite sign of growth for the young Newton church.

With the Aces property now gone from the Newton Y’s portfolio, Vanderlaan said the organization is now focusing on the YMCA Childcare Center (YCC). The program recently has moved into the Newton Y’s main facility, with a ribbon cutting for the updated facility scheduled for next week. But the Y currently is working with the Newton Development Corporation to sell the former YCC building at 2713 N. Forth Ave. E. Vanderlaan said if the organization doesn’t see movement on the property by 2013, the Y will try to sell the facility under its own supervision.

Mike Mendenhall can be contacted at (641) 792-3121 ext. 422 or via email at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com.