We couldn’t help but be relieved by last week’s news that the pending sale of the T. Boone Pickens YMCA in downtown Dallas fell through.
The iconic Y building at Ross Avenue and Akard Street was under contract to be sold to an undisclosed buyer who planned to make it a mixed-use apartment development.
Members were told in September that the building would close two days after Thanksgiving, with no plans for a replacement facility.
Just like that. The Y would not have a downtown location for the first time since 1885 and possibly wouldn’t again.
We, like many others, don’t want to see that happen and are glad this longtime Dallas treasure has gotten at least a temporary reprieve. Hopefully that will give time for the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas to either figure out how to save the building, which the Y has occupied since 1983, or secure a new downtown location.
We agree with upset members and others that the downtown Y is so much more than a gym. For generations, it’s been a place where people of all ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds have come together to shoot hoops, swim laps and bond in ways they simply don’t in other settings. And let’s not forget the many community programs stemming from the facility: the after school and child care aid, the swim safety lessons, the scholarships and, of course, the annual Turkey Trot run on Thanksgiving Day.
In other words, the downtown Y has exemplified the organization’s mission, “To put Christian values into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.”
We sympathize with Curt Hazelbaker, the president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Y, who for the last few months has been trying to reassure upset members and employees that even without a downtown location, the mission will go on.
The facts are plain. The 1940 former bank building needs about $8 million in repairs. And with annual income of about $86 million, that’s a sizable chunk. Without Pickens’ $5 million donation in 2009, the organization might have been at this unfortunate crossroads much sooner. What’s more, the pandemic hurt membership badly, causing the downtown Y to bleed red ink.
Still we recall that the oil tycoon himself was brought up in YMCAs. When he died in September 2019, Y leadership issued a statement saying, “We are committed to honoring and maintaining the T. Boone Pickens namesake and having a YMCA presence in the Downtown Dallas area.”
Nov. 23 is the 138th anniversary of the founding of the downtown Y. That’s ironically Thanksgiving Day, when thousands will descend on downtown, many of them dressed like turkeys, for the 56th annual Turkey Trot. We’re very thankful for the downtown Y and hope its able leadership can save it.
