Sale of Downtown Dallas YMCA Falls Through

The T. Boone Pickens YMCA in downtown Dallas won’t be changing hands after all.

The sale of the property at 601 North Akard Street has fallen through, nearly two months after an unidentified buyer was under contract to acquire the 83-year-old building, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Curt Hazelbaker, president and CEO of YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, conveyed the news to members in a letter on Monday, revealing that the buyer backed out of the deal.

“In light of this, the T. Boone Pickens YMCA will remain open, with normal operations,” he wrote. “While this is an unexpected turn, it speaks to the current market.”

These days, a handful of commercial real estate transactions are being delayed or canceled amid high interest rates and a tight lending environment that’s making it tough for investors to attain adequate funds for acquisitions.

Despite leading the nation in commercial real estate sales through the third quarter, Dallas-Fort Worth experienced a 64 percent decline in sales volume year-over-year during that stretch.

The YMCA first put the 211,000-square-foot historic building up for sale in 2019 and relisted it in 2021. The decision to sell was driven by the need for significant repairs, costing roughly $8 million dollars. The organization planned to use funds from the sale for other uses.

However, some members opposed the sale, expressing a desire to retain the YMCA in downtown Dallas, where it has served the community for over a century.