Downtown Dallas YMCA under contract

The T. Boone Pickens YMCA in downtown Dallas is trading hands.

An unidentified buyer is under contract to buy the 83-year-old building at 601 North Akard Street, the Dallas Morning News reported. While the price was not disclosed, the building was previously valued at nearly $12 million. 

The 211,000-square-foot YMCA building has been on and off the market since 2019, prompting pushback from local residents who want the facility to remain open. The YMCA, which has had a downtown Dallas branch since 1885, initially promised that it would open a new facility elsewhere in downtown, but it has since backed off that plan.

There are roughly $8 million in repairs needed at the site, and the organization needed extra funds for other uses, leading to the decision to sell. 

“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,” YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas president and CEO Curt Hazelbaker told the outlet.

The YMCA will continue to offer some programs, like water safety classes, in the downtown area, since they do not require a permanent building. Employees will be relocated to other facilities in the area, and if the sale goes through, the organization will invest in other North Texas locations.

A number of historic downtown buildings have traded or been listed this year. The Kirby, a 17-story, 200,000-square-foot apartment building at 1509 Main Street, went up for sale in July. 

In April, a pair of landmark properties hit the market: the six-story Purse Building at 601 Elm Street, and the two-story building at 1815 Market Street. 

—Quinn Donoghue 

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