Central Spokane YMCA/YWCA Receives U.S. Resiliency Council Silver Rating

February 23, 2021

The Central Spokane YMCA/YWCA has achieved the U.S. Resiliency Council (USRC) Silver rating. This new rating system was established for modern (post 2000) buildings and indicates the expected performance during and after a major seismic event.

The building is constructed with reinforced concrete masonry unit walls, which serve as shear walls to resist earthquake loads. The resilient qualities of concrete masonry construction help achieve key performance targets including fire safety, limited building damage, and a short operational recovery time.

Buildings that are both safe and resilient to natural disasters are more valuable to current and future owners, tenants, lenders/insurers, and to the communities in which they are located.

Tom Young, Executive Director of NWCMA, explains, "A resilient building is an asset to a community. In addition to being a good long-term investment, it can often serve as a recovery operations center or provide shelter to a community impacted by a natural disaster."

Achieving the USRC Silver rating for existing buildings recognizes the inherent resiliency of reinforced masonry buildings. The Spokane Central YMCA/YWCA was one of the first two buildings rated in the United States under the USRC Getting-to-Silver initiative.

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