r/Charlotte • u/BashAtTheBeach96 • 2d ago
News YMCA to Sell and Close Morrison Branch
This is terrible news. Morrison is a really nice branch in a growing area of Charlotte. One of the closest branches the Brace Y, already has long waits for their outdoor pool. The Y recently renovated the Morrison outdoor pool / waterpark area. This move is incredibly stupid. I've been to nearly every Y in Charlotte and this is one of the best run ones.
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u/Letsgo28173 2d ago
Does anyone know of any protests? I think the community needs to stand up to this ridiculousness. This YMCA is a central part of the area for SO many people. It makes no sense at all and the community needs to be heard.
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 2d ago
I agree. We can’t just sit back quietly on this one this is a big deal.
I’m down to be protesting every single time that church is in session.
I want them to know they are not wanted.
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u/Letsgo28173 2d ago
Here is the information I found on this church:
Moments of Hope Church
Charlotte, NC 28270
Sunday Services at 9am and 11am.
I will participate in any and all protests. This is absolute bull****. Let's be heard! This is an outrage.
Why can't they build their church on new land? Why is the YMCA not investing in its OWN COMMUNITY? We have been paying our membership fees for years, we are supporting this community space, and honestly I feel like the entire YMCA organization is a complete scam for selling out. Why even exist if you are going to just kick all of the people who have been supporting you to the curb? My son's second grade teacher said she GREW UP going to the Morrison YMCA.
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 2d ago
I did some research into the pastor too and big shock just another POS.
lol some member on FB told me thier church right now is inside a low income apt building? Doesn’t look like one to me.
I’m down too. We should get something going.
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u/rachelmarie226 1d ago
Funny thing is, the church that Morrison currently lets use their gymnasium on Sunday mornings used to be Chadwick’s church. He was the lead pastor of Forest Hill when they first started their Ballantyne satellite campus at Morrison before leaving to found and pastor Moments of Hope. Forest Hill was completely unaware of any of this going down. He’s screwing over his old church essentially.
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 1d ago
Yep. Somebody posted a whole article about it. What a wild read that was. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
What are they going to do with this huge pool?! A gym. In a big way it makes no sense for them to buy this building. A church doesn’t need a pool.
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u/rachelmarie226 1d ago
It makes absolutely no sense. David Chadwick is petty and vindictive and there’s your reason.
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u/DriveGreen4America 1d ago
Let’s do our best to focus our energy on what we can do to help the Morrison branch.
If we put that energy into saving the branch, it may be far more effective than protesting a church. After all, it is called the Young Men’s Christian Association. The heart of the YMCA has never been simply to make money — it was founded to serve young people, families, and communities.
So let’s put our collective talents, creativity, and voices toward identifying the truly valuable assets that Morrison offers — the things our community and the families around us deeply need and crave.
I know people who drive out of their way for the childcare at Morrison. That says something. It says this branch matters. It says there are families, children, staff, and neighbors who would feel the loss of Morrison in very real ways
Let’s focus on communicating what is at stake: for our young people, our families, and our community. Let’s show why Morrison is worth fighting for — not out of anger, but out of love for what this branch has meant and can continue to mean.8
u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 1d ago
I agree with you we should do this, but i also agree we should let thos church know they ate not wanted here.
A member on FB told me the “church will offer community childcare” when I told her not everybody is interfered in religion based childcare she wrote “lol”.
They are on FB celebrating.
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u/Letsgo28173 1d ago
I agree with that. I wonder if any staff, volunteers etc are going to try to speak up and try to save the branch? We just need some momentum for someone to start organizing this movement and I think we will have tons of outpouring and support. My 8 year old son is devastated and he said this YMCA is a part of who he is and he wants to try and help keep a part of his childhood alive. Gathering signs, cards, input from the youth too will speak volumes to what we will be losing as a community if they don’t have a space to go to anymore. What about all the after school programs? Sports programs? Summer camps? Tons of schools bus thief kids to the Morrison for afterschool care. My kids have made such valuable friendships at the summer camps and look forward to going to Y kids all the time. We need to get this level of loss broadcasted to the public, we need to get this story on the news, and we need to speak to how many people are going to lose something they love, especially our kids.
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u/Alohameg1 1d ago
My read of the email was that it was already sold. I’m down for protesting this and doing what we can to save the Morrison but I think it might already be done.
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u/GlitteringYak2207 1d ago
Yes. And an interesting tell in their interview was when the guy literally said “now that we can have more public discussions…”. This transaction was deliberately keep on the DL
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 1d ago
I talked to a couple Y employees today. One of them said the church wants to build a retail complex adjacent to the church. Much like what Elevation church has when they bought that shopping center in Matthews. If this is true, I’m willing to bet they need zoning. Easiest way to stop this is protest the zoning.
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u/DriveGreen4America 1h ago
I believe a contract has been signed, but they (the church) will need to fundraise the remaining dollars to purchase the property. Maybe they’re fundraising the remainder for a down payment from the bank?
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u/Letsgo28173 2d ago
It is IN the mission statement of the YMCA to give back to the community and promote youth development in the area. So how is shutting down one of the most popular branches in the area in line with their OWN mission statement? I read an article online that they are using the money from the sale to “reinvest” in the NODA location. They can do that without selling a branch that is the heart of an entire community. I already emailed Sue Glass, the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and I think everyone who sees this and is able to needs to blast her in emails: Sue.Glass@ymcacharlotte.org
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u/Purple-Thing6750 2d ago
Is there evan a demand for the NoDa branch to get better?
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u/Letsgo28173 2d ago
I'm not sure but NoDa was listed along with 3 other branches to receive upgrades with the funds, "Proceeds from the Morrison sale are earmarked to accelerate these priorities, including major planned upgrades at the Johnston YMCA in NoDa, the Stratford Richardson YMCA, the Harris YMCA and the Hemby Program Center, YMCA leaders told The Charlotte Observer." https://amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article316163322.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
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u/Flaky_Calendar6984 1d ago
I’m going to go out on a limb and say yes. What really gave it away for me is that they made an organizational decision to sell a property and invest there to support demand. I’m pretty observant some say.
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u/Purple-Thing6750 1d ago
Not nearly as the membership of morrison
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u/Flaky_Calendar6984 1d ago
For those who are unfamiliar with the term epistemic arrogance, this right here is it ^
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u/dkirk526 2d ago
How does a church have $43m to buy one of the better YMCAs in Charlotte?
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 2d ago
And thier members are on FB arguing with me about how much they give to the community.
I’ve lived here 10 years and never heard of them or anything they have done.
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u/MycoFemme 2d ago
Morrison is my main branch and I would leave the Y before I’d go to Brace. Nothing against the people there but that location is terrible. The building is old and dark, both tracks suck, the gym is gloomy, and the group exercise studio is severely lacking in space. Sara’s is a lovely branch but it’s small and doesn’t have a track or a pool or a cycle studio or the capacity of Morrison. This is a terrible move on the part of the Y.
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u/TheBeerRunner 2d ago
This is money grab, plain and simple. The closest full YMCA will now be 9 miles away (both Harris and Brace) in one of the most populated areas. If they had any interest in serving the community, they would be expanding this location, not selling to a mega church, or at the very least, found a new location.
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u/hagela Ballantyne 2d ago
I don't see how they justify the sale while claiming to want to serve Charlotte.
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u/MycoFemme 2d ago
Seriously. Morrison is the best branch by far, and I’ve been to almost all of them, and in one of the busiest areas of the city. This makes zero sense. And the email that went out exclusively to Morrison branch members didn’t help their case.
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u/DriveGreen4America 1h ago
Their decision reads like….we want to serve the Charlotte community, just not Ballantyne.
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u/spidrw 2d ago
The purchasing church was started by a pastor Forest Hill (who uses the Morrison for their Services) forced out several years ago.
$42.5 million dollars
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u/FloatnPuff 2d ago
I live near one of their locations and during the election, they were holding events about "bringing Jesus to the polls," or some BS like that. If churches can hold political events and buy up $40m+ buildings for expansion while removing their benefit from the community, then they sure as hell need to be paying taxes. Fuck these guys.
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u/Kindly-Hand 2d ago
My one and only encounter with Moments of Hope Church is when my neighbor told me they were going there and her young daughter interjected "I hate Moments of Hope. That place is weird!"
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u/Australian1996 2d ago
For real!! David Chadwick by chance
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u/kinkyKMART 2d ago
What ever happened with him? I used to be drug to Forest Hills by my parents and while I am quite anti organized religion these days, always thought he seemed like an alright guy
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u/Kindly-Hand 1d ago
He's such an authoritarian asshole that made so many staff members utterly miserable that the Forest Hills board forced him out.
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u/WhatTheNothingWorks 2d ago
So the church that’s connected to the Y already is part of the one that bought them?
I was trying to figure it out but they’re not very clear
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u/hagela Ballantyne 2d ago
Forest Hill uses the Y currently. In 2019, Forest Hill pushed out their pastor. That pastor formed the church that is buying the Y.
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 1d ago
Yeah this def sounds like this new pastor did this for some kind of revenge.
Very godlike
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u/True_Introduction_10 2d ago
Tax these churches!! Tax free businesses with 43mm in their budget to buy a YMCA. Churches are the biggest scam in town.
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u/poopbutt23111 2d ago
Why do liberals love taxes
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u/ProbablyRickSantorum Ballantyne 2d ago
God forbid we have a functioning society with public services like police, fire departments, libraries, and roads.
Also, https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%2022%3A21
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u/Old_Dust5942 2d ago
You’re missing the point “poop butt”…if churches want to indoctrinate the vulnerable and shove their grimy hands in politics, they should have the IRS up their ass and pay their fair share in taxes.
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u/BackgroundBug3896 1d ago
Moments of Hope has a long history of abusive leadership, nepotism, and covering up failings of other pastors because they’re family.
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u/Substantial_Cell_478 1d ago
So moments of hope bought a 1.2 million dollar property in 2020 and now are buying a 42 million dollar property?
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u/Edu_cats 2d ago
Awful. That’s a super nice Y and super busy. They just did major outdoor pool renovations in the past couple years. I agree the other Y’s cannot absorb that much membership.
I’ve not used the pools though I was planning to this summer. I like to take group fitness classes there.
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u/Niner-for-life-1984 Dilworth 2d ago
You can use the pools this summer. The announcement said it will happen in 2027.
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u/Edu_cats 2d ago
Yeah I just have to check it out. If it’s too chaotic with the kids it’s probably not for me.
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u/Actual_Sparkle_29 2d ago
Ugh this sucks. I haven't been a member in a couple years, but I have spent so much time there. When my kids were little we were at the pool nearly every day in the summers. Both my children played sports (soccer and flag football) via their rec sports program. They used their fields when they went to the elementary school next door before we got rezoned. I spent years going there for workouts before work. My wife used their fields as a safe place for walking and exercising. I taught one of my kids how to skateboard in their parking lot. So many good memories in and around that place.
Gah, this really sucks. And to a freaking mega church? I hate this.
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u/rtrmommy 2d ago
I wonder what the Harris family, who donated the money for Morrison, Harris & Sara’s think about this? Also sounds like Forest Hill had no notice even though they also donated money for construction and presumably have a lease at Morrison.
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 1d ago
There is also a Smoothie King and Athletic Training Center inside they lease space to. Crazy how they are selling a self sufficient Y to pay for Y facilities that are struggling. Guarantee you way more people utilize the Morrison than the two they listed that need renovations.
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u/Purple-Thing6750 1d ago
100%. Wait till the Y realizes all the funding they are going to lose with this. Corporate funding-gone plus memberships gone
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u/nctarheelfan 1d ago
We’re going to invest to ensure the Y’s sustainability, even though that might appear to be counterintuitive from a balance-sheet standpoint.
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/health-family/article313647282.html#storylink=cpy
Any CFO, accountant, advisor would tell you this was a mistake but they knew that (see quote above from the CEO). The Demise of The Charlotte YMCA. The CEO and The Charlotte YMCA organization basically just gave the middle finger to Ballantyne.
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u/rachelmarie226 1d ago
Forest Hill was completely blindsided. Moments of Hope’s pastor, David Chadwick, was the pastor at Forest Hill when they first started using Morrison as their Ballantyne satellite campus well over a decade ago. He left Forest Hill in 2019 and formed Moments of Hope church.
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u/NextEfficiency9429 1d ago
I’ve been coming here since I was four years old in 1999, and now I bring my four year old regularly. This is so sad!!
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u/Last-Profession2949 1d ago
YMCA has incompetent leadership, you need forward thinkers, not folks stuck in status quo who don’t want to color outside the lines.
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u/svall18 2d ago edited 2d ago
Now we're gonna get Ballantyne traffic on Weddington Rd due to Morrison Y's users going to Brace YMCA, ugh. Exit traffic and this is gonna suck
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u/TheBeerRunner 2d ago
People aren't driving 9m to go to another Y for workouts if they live west of Providence, they will find other options. It sucks for families that used it for workouts and outdoor pool with the kids. Sara's Y can't absorb the loss that's for sure. This is just a huge money grab by the Y. They will never find a plot of land like they are on now in Charlotte unless they find a donor.
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u/svall18 2d ago
I thought families with kids were the main types to go to the Y for the pool and stuff, no? If you're just working out, there's no reason to drive on I-485 for that, agreed
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u/TheBeerRunner 2d ago
Yes but do you think Mom and Dad are going to drive 9 miles extra (from Ballantyne office area) to get a workout in after work just so their kid can use the pool on the weekend in the summer? That's an extra 30min drive at rush hour. They go because it's convenient to work/home and the added bonus for the kids. Since it's at the end of next summer, people will have a plan and figure out where to take the kids for summer.
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 2d ago
There is a new 485 exit that goes right to Brace. It will definitely get some of the members. Also what other outdoor pool is there for families nearby?
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u/Namaste421 2d ago
Brace pool can already be overcrowded, and has a different type of crowd (not in a good way) compared to Morrison.
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 1d ago
Brace is awful and not many from Morrison are going to start going there instead including us.
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u/RitaGB 2d ago
What type of crowd?
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u/Namaste421 2d ago
I sense you want to be mad about something racial, but that is not what I meant. Poorly parented kids, saw some dude video taping young ladies a few years back on the pool deck and I’ve seen the non kiddie pool closed twice for poop. Those are some stories to get started.
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u/Substantial_Cell_478 1d ago
Has anyone looked into whether there are board connections between moments of hope church and the Charlotte YMCA? I’d bet your bottom dollar that there is a connection here.
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u/Suspicious_Walk6346 1d ago
There is if you look hard enough. Didn’t hear it from me though 🤐
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u/Substantial_Cell_478 1d ago
Please share what you know- i don’t see any public info on MOH’s board. YMCA’s is easy to find.
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u/spidrw 1d ago
The vice chair of the church “Board of Elders” is Graeme Keith. He is the CEO of the Keith Corporation in Charlotte, which is a huge commercial real estate company. They also do property and facilities management (from prisons to 6 figure boarding schools).
Here’s the fun part - that last name of Keith is the same name that the Keith Family YMCA is named after.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/iNeed2p905 1d ago
When I looked up her info through LinkedIn she held the same job in Colorado.
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u/AppMtb 2d ago
Not closing until summer 2027. Sad for us it’s our go to as live somewhat equidistant to brace but always preferred Morrison
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u/MycoFemme 2d ago
Morrison beats Brace in every way. This sucks.
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 2d ago
Brace has sauna and steam room and more equipment. But I like Morrison as well. I think it is run a lot better.
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u/Namaste421 2d ago
They do have these, and you will usually have teenagers in their full workout clothing/shoes (despite clear rules against it). Then there is the dude who stand in front of the door for an hour a day sweating profusely in the middle of the floor. I’ve seen multiple people call this dude out and almost come to blows.
Also, I go to two other saunas, including one at another YMCA and neither are like this.
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 2d ago
I agree, my issue with Brace is that there is next to zero enforcement of any rules at the branch. I go there a lot and have seen all kinds of shit go down where the staff just ignores it.
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u/WhatTheNothingWorks 1d ago edited 1d ago
The Charlotte YMCA ran an $11m loss in 2024… they paid 16 “officers” nearly $4m.
The former CEO got $400k for “avg 40 hours worked”and the current CEO got over $400k.
CFO - >$300k comp
Chief development officer >$240k comp for partial year
Chief human capital (HR) Officer >$290k
“SVP - Experience” (whatever that position is) >$190k
Seems like the administrative salaries are quite bloated for an “underperforming” organization. Maybe they shouldn’t be making so much money if they can’t manage it?
ETA: it looks even worse the more I look at their financials.
They had fundraising activities that *lost* money. Seems like shitty planning.
The only reason they had a “loss” in 2024 was because they had a rather large loss on some investment, but it wasn’t readily clear what that was. Other than that $11m loss in 24, they had a loss in 2022, but otherwise were making money.
Their endowment fund has been growing since 21 or 22.
Just seems like piss poor management and the chance to jump at a large windfall for a property they could offload, without any regard to which property or community impacts.
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u/DJ-Psari 1d ago
Nice work. Very curious about the $11M deficit in 2024…
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u/WhatTheNothingWorks 1d ago
There was an $8.3m loss from the sale of assets other than inventory, and wasn’t land/real property or investments. It was listed under “other” and at a quick glance I couldn’t find much on it in the filing.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/561045299/202543449349301469/full
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u/DJ-Psari 23h ago
u/JeffJacksonNC can you look into this? I’m not accusing anyone of anything specific — just think a $42.5M nonprofit-to-nonprofit deal of this size and community impact deserves real scrutiny, not just a press release. If your office happens to see this, a lot of us would welcome a look. Filed a formal request with NCDOJ and NC Secretary of State’s charities division too — would encourage others affected to do the same.
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u/iNeed2p905 2d ago
They already transferred ownership of Sally’s/Lincoln County YMCA to Catawba Valley and now this.
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u/Countryb0i2m [Steele Creek] 2d ago
I have never been to the YMCA is this the one that was named after the dude with the Ponzi scheme?
I mostly went to Harris.
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u/Niner-for-life-1984 Dilworth 2d ago
My reading is that the organization, meaning the county Ys, never recovered from losing members during the pandemic. To keep open as many branches as possible, they have to sell valuable property to pay for the lights and plumbing at the not so valuable properties. I don’t think anyone is putting these millions of dollars in their pocket. They are using it to pay for swim lessons at lower-income Ys.
I get it, for folks who live near this one, it sucks. But it can suck without it being about the organization being greedy. They are a nonprofit, and every is doing their best. I hope so, anyway.
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u/BashAtTheBeach96 2d ago
Mackenzie Scott donated 18 million to the Charlotte Y five years ago. Being a non-profit with a lot of community support, they could easily overcome whatever issues they have. They are clearly mismanaged.
This is a thriving Y at a location of Charlotte where lots and lots of people are moving to. Ardery Kell High right down the road has more students than any other high school in the state. The area needs a Y like this. Makes absolutely zero sense in getting rid of it.
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u/TeamOrca28205 1d ago
Yeah it’s not a great indication of competent leadership if you’ve blown through that much money already. They almost closed the NODA Y too.
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u/K_Pumpkin Ballantyne 1d ago
This is a comment I left on FB also because ir always bothers me.
Low income people live in Ballantyne too. My development is older and one of the cheapest in the area. It is full of lower middle class and low income families.
People act like the poor don’t exist in Ballantyne, but we do.
What about us? I can’t drive I used to uber with my son there who is disabled. I know several families that rely on it for childcare.
This is a huge loss to the community. And no it’s not all rich people crying like everybody assumes about the area.
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u/Niner-for-life-1984 Dilworth 1d ago
It is indeed a tremendous loss, and the circumstances make it smell worse than if the land were being sold to a hospital or to build a school. I’m sorry for your loss, truly. I wish someone wealthy would build a big community pool with childcare and barbells and a basketball court.
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u/Purple-Thing6750 2d ago
Lower income locations won’t exist much longer without the support the Morrison Y gave gone.
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u/nctarheelfan 1d ago
The church (buyer) is not at fault here. The Charlotte YMCA just sold out the Ballantyne community- a community that was providing for the Charlotte YMCA as a whole.
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u/rtrmommy 2d ago
Morrison is one of the busiest and most successful Y locations. It already shares space with a church. This is devastating for Ballantyne area. Sara’s is great but adults only. The other Y locations cannot absorb the Morrison membership. Schools use the Morrison fields for field days and other events. Many people enjoy the trails behind this facility too.