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GREENSBORO — During a typical after-work rush, the Hayes-Taylor YMCA parking lot downtown gets stacked up with cars waiting for spots. The facility’s one multipurpose room holds an aerobics class, and adults and children share one basketball court split down the middle by a curtain.

“I like the people here,” said 9-year-old Shakir Moffitt, who comes for the after-school program. Shakir likes swimming, playing dodgeball and football.

But his aunt, who was picking him up Wednesday, knows the Y could be better. It could be newer, brighter, more like the Spears YMCA across town.

“I understand anything old is going to be more messed up,” Robin Moffitt said. “I want my child to have the same opportunities as more privileged kids.”

Built in 1939 with $50,000 raised through a grass-roots effort to match $50,000 donated by Ceasar Cone, the Hayes-Taylor YMCA is doing a lot with the city’s oldest YMCA building: day care, after-school programs, a unique therapeutic water aerobics program.

But the organization would like to do more. And its leadership hopes to make that possible with a new facility in southeast Greensboro — nearly as big as the area’s largest YMCA and able to serve twice as many people as Hayes-Taylor does now.

Earlier this week, YMCA of Greensboro asked the Guilford County Board of Commissioners for $300,000 to kick off the capital campaign. The goal is to come up with about $7 million for a new facility, plus additional costs for land and site development, said Nancy Calkins, the organization’s vice president for financial development.

“We are concerned about the economy, of course,” Calkins said. “Starting a capital campaign is kind of iffy. But we think this is a good opportunity, and we are optimistic.”

The YMCA of Greensboro is holding discussions with N.C. A&T to buy the building at 1101 E. Market St., university officials confirmed Wednesday. Hayes-Taylor’s current facility is bordered by A&T property and doesn’t have room to expand, Calkins said.

The proposed location for a new facility is in the Gateway Center, near Barber Park in southeast Greensboro. That location, combined with a larger facility, would provide the capacity to double the 5,000 people that Hayes-Taylor serves now, Calkins said.

That location would provide outdoor space for day care and activities and be convenient to many who use its services, said Larry Burnett, executive director of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA.

Calkins said construction could start in 2010. The new facility is planned to be about 40,000 square feet and will be built with room to expand when it reaches capacity.

A new facility also would provide space for athletics fields and a larger pool, she said.

In an e-mailed statement, YMCA of Greensboro President Greg Jones wrote: “Hayes-Taylor YMCA has a wonderful legacy of service to Greensboro, and we want to expand our ability to serve. We’re thrilled with the possibility of building a new world-class facility for families in southeast Greensboro.”

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com