There's concern coming from some residents in the Cathedral neighbourhood following Wednesday night's city council meeting.

The city gifted the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) with a parcel of land worth over $2 million between 1915 and 1955 Retallack St.

The land is a huge step forward towards the YWCA's goal of building a new $35 million facility.

"This [centre] will add community gathering space," YWCA CEO Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen said at Wednesday's council meeting. "This will add an ability to also have other partners live in our building or co-exist or be able to program out of our building as well."

Many people in the Cathedral neighbourhood believe the new multi-purpose facility will be a great addition to the area, but some residents who live right across from the planned construction site have some concerns.

"It's a fantastic project," stated Tania Rice, who lives across the street from the future YWCA centre. "It's very smart to have all the resources in one spot, but it's just not the right piece of property surrounded by houses."

She says some neighbours feel like it could be in a larger area that could also accommodate more housing in the future and put more community resources in it.

The block that Rice lives on is also dealing with the construction of a parkade on the east side, so she is concerned about the stability of the street once there is construction happening just outside of both her front and backyard.

"There are a lot of kids on this street," Rice said. "There's going to be a huge amount of traffic coming in with the amount of people [the YWCA] serves and it's also a 24-hour building. How is that going to affect people who are trying to sleep?"

The YWCA hopes to have shovels in the ground by fall 2020. In the meantime, they will begin working on a development plan to present to the City and continue to raise funds for the facility through private donors and from the provincial and federal governments.