There was a time when the downtown YMCA had living quarters. Now officials say the 100,000 square foot building is just too big and it needs extensive updating amounting to a nearly $7 million.  There's a plan that would turn more than half of the nearly 100-year-old building into apartments.

Today you can get a work out just finding a place to work out at the downtown YMCA. The massive building has been structurally changed so many times over the last 90 years, it almost takes a map to find all the club's fitness areas.

"Right now, this is a pretty difficult structure to get around in, and a new elevator, handicap accessibility," YMCA Executive Director Mike Gulick said.

As part of a planned remodel, the Y's Executive Director says all that will change. The fitness space is going to be all new. It will also shrink by more than half. Under the proposal, everything will move to the newest section. The rest is going up for rent.

"Butting the interior of the structure and rehabbing that into 52 units that would serve who knows how many individuals and families," Gulick said.

It's all part of a plan to put affordable apartments in, sized from studio to four-bedroom units. The $6.8 million project will makeover a decades old building in desperate need of a face lift. It's not a done deal yet though. The project hinges on state housing authority approval.

"Priority was the downtown facility, our relevance in the community and the under served," Gulick said.

More housing would help fill an affordable dwelling gap in Sioux Falls. Right now, everyone here is just waiting for approval, hoping their plan is the one given a green light.

"We could go back to a point where part of the Y's mission of serving everybody, especially those that have some economic difficulties. Why can't we do that in a broader fashion?" Gulick said.

Lloyd Companies is the developer tapped for the project. Lloyd would also manage the units. The tax credit grant is payable over 15 years, during while the YMCA would retain ownership.