Ballantyne YMCA sale protests give way to storytelling in south Charlotte
For the second time in the past month, Ballantyne community members came together outside the Morrison Family YMCA in south Charlotte on Saturday to voice their concerns about the proposed $42.5 million sale of the facility.
Read more YMCA donors should reconsider until these Morrison questions are answered | Opinion
But instead of signs and angry chants, attendees shared emotional stories about what the local YMCA branch means to them. Those stories were recorded for an upcoming planned documentary at the pavilion. People of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life shared their personal stories on camera.
One of the youngest participants was 12-year-old Avery Taff, who said the Y is a place where she can belong. Avery said the Morrison Y closing would feel like losing a second home. She enjoys going to the Y for activities such as theater and swimming. She learned about the building being sold during a camping trip after getting text messages from her friends.
“We were on a bus and I just sat there and started crying,” she said while facing the camera.
Avery’s mom, Jacki Davis, said it’s a place where her daughters can come and do things competitively, yet it remains accepting and supportive. One example is giving every theater participant a role in their shows.
“We could think of millions of reasons why this should stay,” Davis told The Charlotte Observer.
“I can’t imagine this place without it,” Avery said while being filmed.
On June 17, the YMCA of Greater Charlotte said it was selling the branch to Moments of Hope Church of Charlotte. The groups are expected to finalize the deal by next summer.
The YMCA accepted the unsolicited offer from the church to speed up a $100-million reinvestment plan to upgrade its facilities across the region. Moments of Hope Church is led by the Rev. David Chadwick.
The sale sparked widespread community backlash, including an online petition that has gathered over 6,000 signatures. The first rally was held July 12 with several hundred people protesting the sale at the same Bryant Farms Road location. A second rally was set for July 26 but was postponed due to bad weather.
JD Hopper, the organizer of the Save Morrison YMCA Coalition, encouraged people to come out for this Saturday’s gathering to share stories or simply listen. He said the filming shows that corporate or high-level decisions impact residents who depend on the YMCA.
“We think the sale is an egregious mistake,” Hopper said. “We don’t know if it’s based on ignorance or just selfishness. We really hate this decision, and we want to do everything to stop it…. We feel extremely good about our chances with everything we have brewing.”
Hopper did not initiate the original protests but has helped organize community members opposing the sale through outreach and letter-writing campaigns aimed at YMCA board members and Attorney General Jeff Jackson.
Read more Charlotte parents call teen curfew charges confusing, say it threatens their jobs
Suzie Freitag said the filming gives community members a sense of hope that they can have an effect on a situation where they were given no power. She joined the YMCA in 2003 as a stay-at-home mother with two young children, who also enjoyed the facility. After leaving her full-time job, it also provided volunteer opportunities for her and her husband, and allowed her to earn income while supporting other parents.
“This became my safety zone where I could come,” she said. “I could earn an income and I could make a difference to other moms who had little kids.”
The documentary will be released within one to two weeks because timing is crucial, especially alongside other legal, financial and political strategies being organized behind the scenes.
The Morrison YMCA expects to remain open until next summer. Some of the amenities at the 87,000-square-foot facility include an outdoor pool, a water park, two gyms, an indoor track and a sand volleyball court.
Ballantyne stands to lose a community hub that residents say is much more than just a fitness facility. They describe it as a place where friends gather, multi-generational families take classes like baking and acting, and children join sports, swim lessons and youth programs, community members told The Charlotte Observer.
The sale will also force Forest Hill Church to relocate from a campus it has called home for 15 years — one of the church’s six locations. Forest Hill was previously led for nearly four decades by Chadwick, who left in 2019 amid internal conflict before founding Moments of Hope Church.
YMCA leaders said they recognize the community’s deep ties to the Morrison facility, which opened 25 years ago. To help keep members informed throughout this transition, the nonprofit launched an information page at ymcacharlotte.org/morrison-update featuring updates, FAQs and details regarding the sale.
Like many organizations following the COVID pandemic, the YMCA has worked to rebuild its finances while reinvesting in key facilities, according to YMCA of Greater Charlotte Board Chair Jeff Brown and CEO/President Sue Glass.
“Our responsibility is not only to honor what generations before us built, but to ensure future generations inherit an even stronger YMCA,” Brown and Glass stated in a message to community members.
But for residents and documentary participants like Becca Jones, that expense means losing their local Morrison Y. It became a daily sanctuary after she moved back to Charlotte 13 years ago.
“I work a full-time job outside the house, and it’s pretty demanding,” Jones said. “Coming here is an escape from that, and it’s a place to cultivate new friendships. I’ve made some of my best friends here at the Y.”
Read more Carolina Panthers sign a QB with Haynes King hurt, waive two other players
.
This story was originally published August 8, 2026 at 4:17 PM.
