Charlotte YMCA cites new financial details in justifying sale of Ballantyne branch
Despite community pleas to reconsider the $42.5 million sale of its Ballantyne branch in south Charlotte, the YMCA of Greater Charlotte is moving forward on its controversial decision, citing new details about financial pressures it has been facing.
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The YMCA surprised the public June 17 when it announced a purchase and sale agreement to sell the Morrison Family YMCA to Moments of Hope Church of Charlotte, which had made an unsolicited offer for the complex. The transaction is expected to close next summer, after which the beloved community facility at 9405 Bryant Farms Road will shut down.
The sale blindsided longtime members and a church that meets there, triggered grassroots protests and drew sharp criticism from a county commissioner who says the public is losing a vital community hub.
A petition opposing the sale, launched by resident Joseph Navarro, has collected more than 6,500 signatures. Hundreds of residents also attended a July protest, while others formed a coalition and steering committee to organize opposition.
Nearly three months after first telling the public about the sale, the YMCA is still defending that hot-button decision.
“We would like to explain in greater detail the circumstances that brought us to where we are today and why they have required difficult choices about the future of our YMCA,” CEO and President Sue Glass wrote in a letter published Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The 150-year-old nonprofit’s financial struggles started in 2020 with the COVID pandemic, the letter said.
Before the pandemic, the YMCA generated about $100 million in annual revenue, with nearly 90% coming from memberships and programs.
When facilities closed during the pandemic, membership plummeted 55%, resulting in an immediate $40 million revenue loss in 2020 alone. “Expenses were reduced, positions frozen and capital projects deferred. We drew from reserves and worked with our lenders to create additional financial flexibility,” Glass wrote.
Although membership recovered to 42,500 “units” by 2023, it remained well below pre-pandemic levels.
“At the same time, consumer habits and the competitive landscape had changed, while the costs of operating and maintaining our facilities continued to grow,” Glass wrote.
After reporting a deficit in 2022, with $75.8 million in revenue, the YMCA explored selling the Johnston YMCA in NoDa in 2023, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. But when that proposal met with community backlash, the organization instead sold two Lincoln County branches to the Catawba Valley YMCA system.
By 2024, the YMCA’s annual revenue was $74 million, more than 25% below pre-pandemic levels. Its 2024 expenses were $85.5 million, leaving an overall deficit of $11.4 million, The Observer previously reported. Its net assets were $142.6 million.
The YMCA also identified more than $100 million in repairs and modernization needed across its facilities, Glass wrote.
While the Y has invested $12 million in infrastructure, staff and systems under its 2025-28 strategic plan, leadership concluded that cost-cutting measures and slow membership growth could not solve the funding gap.
“We needed to fundamentally rethink how our YMCA operated, how it was funded and how we managed our physical footprint,” Glass wrote. “The difficult reality is that the steps already underway, while beginning to move the organization forward, cannot on their own meet the critical investment needs of our Y.”
The sale to Moments of Hope Church, led by Pastor David Chadwick, was initiated by an unsolicited offer by the church. While critics have raised concerns about the transaction, YMCA leadership has said it provided an opportunity that could not be turned down.
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“It had the potential to materially change the YMCA’s financial trajectory, address critical needs across the organization and provide the financial stability necessary for the Y to continue fulfilling its mission across greater Charlotte,” Glass wrote. “That did not make the decision easy.”
Over several months, the board examined the YMCA’s finances, facility needs, broader footprint and the opportunities the transaction could create.
“The board therefore entered into a binding contract with Moments of Hope Church, which the YMCA must honor,” Glass wrote.
The YMCA plans to use the sale proceeds to fund a major portion of its $10-million regional reinvestment plan. The funds are earmarked for modernizing several other facilities, including the Johnston YMCA in NoDa, which recently secured a $5 million federal appropriation, as well as the Stratford Richardson, Harris and Hemby Program Center YMCAs.
The Morrison YMCA serves approximately 4,200 member households and is the fifth-largest membership center in the Y’s network of 14 Charlotte-area centers.
The site has been a central part of the Ballantyne community for nearly 30 years. In the 1990s, Ballantyne Development Corp. developers Sara Harris Bissell, Cameron Harris and Johnny Harris planned the 2,000-acre mixed-use development and committed land for public use.
They donated 90 acres to Mecklenburg County for a school, a fire station and a district park while also supporting the YMCA’s plans to build a branch there. Since then, the county and the YMCA have shared the athletic fields.
The sale covers the YMCA’s 22-acre property, which adjoins the 90-acre county-owned athletic fields and amenities at Ballantyne District Park.
Organizers opposing the sale say local YMCA leadership has avoided meetings with the coalition and steering committee working to save the Morrison branch.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, a Democrat representing District 6, expressed frustration over how the deal was handled, calling it “crummy.”
The sale also ends a longtime partnership between the YMCA and the county regarding planned land use at the site.
The YMCA stated that its board voted to approve the sale after “months of consideration and negotiations,” when Mecklenburg County expressed potential interest in buying the property. However, the YMCA said it was not in a position to accept an offer from the county.
Both Rodriguez-McDowell and the organization confirmed that no formal offer was ever made between the county and the YMCA.
A Mecklenburg County spokesperson told the Observer that county officials were made aware of the pending sale March 17, three months before the news became public. During that meeting, county leaders expressed interest in keeping the property in public hands.
However, the county said YMCA leaders informed officials that they already had an offer approved by their board, though they promised to inform the board of the county’s interest.
“We know not everyone will agree with every decision our leadership and Board make,” Glass wrote in Tuesday’s letter. “But we hope that laying out the circumstances that brought us here provides greater context.”
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