YMCA has reportedly sold its nearly century-old facility in Downtown Dallas.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas has agreed to sell its historic downtown facility to an unknown buyer for an undisclosed price, a decision that has sparked pushback from local community members who don’t want to see the community center disappear, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The Dallas YMCA T. Boone Pickens YMCA has resided at Ross Avenue and Akard Street in Downtown Dallas for 83 years. Despite its storied history in the area, major repairs to the 211,000-square-foot building made it too costly to keep, according to YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas President and CEO Curt Hazelbaker, who put the cost of repairs at around $8 million.
“While the decision to sell the building was not an easy one to make, it is one that allows the Y to invest in serving the community, rather than in costly repairs,” Hazelbaker said in a statement, per DMN.
Although many community members are saddened to see the YMCA leaving the downtown building after so long, Hazelbaker says the YMCA will still offer programs like water safety classes in a separate space.
“It is one of the many programs we offer that do not require a building,” he said, per DMN. “In fact, about two-thirds of the people the Y serves annually don’t come into our buildings.”
YMCA has been exploring the sale of the downtown building since 2019, with previous estimates for the facility coming in around $12 million, DMN reported.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas was founded in 1885 as a non-profit organization. It’s composed of 16 branches, two camps, and hundreds of program sites, according to its website.
In 2020, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas celebrated its 135th anniversary serving the North Texas community.
The Dallas Express contacted the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas to inquire about the identity of its buyer but had not heard back at the time of publishing.
