In what is being described as a win-win agreement by both parties, the City of Niles and the Niles-Buchanan YMCA exchanged one property for another.

Niles will get the land on which the old YMCA used to sit at 315 W. Main St. The YMCA will get the former Kawneer property, located next to the YMCA at 1105 N. Front St.

The Niles City Council approved the deal at Monday’s regular meeting.

City Administrator Ric Huff said Niles is excited to get the former YMCA property, which sits on a bluff overlooking the St. Joseph River.

“It is prime for redevelopment,” he said.

The structures on both properties were demolished earlier this year through a state-funded blight elimination program. The City of Niles and the YMCA determined that both properties are of equal value ($50,000) and no funds changed hands during the real estate transfer.

YMCA CEO Mark Weber said the deal made a lot of sense to himself and the YMCA’s Board of Directors.

“We had the other property on the market for quite a few years and just didn’t have any takers,” Weber said. “For me there is more value to have this land next door to me than across the river.”

Future uses for the land are being discussed, Weber said, including the possibility of expanding the current YMCA facility.

“It is amazing the growth here. When we built this place we had about 1,500 members. We have about 10,000 now,” Weber said. “We are feeling the pressures of having a busy facility and the need for additional space, but no definite plans at this point in time.”