Downtown Dallas: 601 N Akard - YMCA

Jay9398 · Post by **Jay9398** » 11 Sep 2019 14:06

It's for sale. Please oh please oh please don't let First Baptist scoop it up.

https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2019/09/ymca-to-sell-its-downtown-building/

LongonBigD · Post by **LongonBigD** » 11 Sep 2019 14:21

Jay9398 wrote:It's for sale. Please oh please oh please don't let First Baptist scoop it up.

https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2019/09/ymca-to-sell-its-downtown-building/

Posted on the day of T Boone's death.

MC_ScattCat · Post by **MC_ScattCat** » 11 Sep 2019 15:26

I'd love for a super tall at this location. Right smack dab in the middle of downtown. It would look great at this location surrounded by all the other tall buildings. Maybe I've spent too much time in LA.

Post by **cowboyeagle05** » 11 Sep 2019 15:28

More likely it would be Joule owner Tim Headington since he already owns most of the parking lots next door. He might even flip the building into a high-end gym/spa until he needs the land for more redevelopment.

Post by **lakewoodhobo** » 12 Sep 2019 14:55

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local ... 3e65342fa3

"We are committed to honoring and maintaining the T. Boone Pickens namesake and having a YMCA presence in the Downtown Dallas area," the statement said.

This can mean a number of things, but it's good to know this is more of a move than a closure. No clue where or when, though.

Post by **Tnexster** » 13 Sep 2019 14:05

^Heard yesterday it could be anywhere from 2-5 years but definitely not far from where they are now.

Post by **cowboyeagle05** » 14 Sep 2019 11:09

If they want some "cheap" land they need to move quick Downtown value is shifting quickly. Old DMN HQ will be more valuable if the high-speed rail station gets built. Uber moving to Deep Ellum means all those empty lots along Ceaser Chavez and Pearl could seem some action maybe even the Spire land is more valuable now between the Arts District and exploding Deep Ellum.

Post by **Tnexster** » 10 Dec 2019 14:46

Don't know how long it has been up but happened to notice a proposed rezoning sign up in the window at the entrance today.

dukemeredith · Post by **dukemeredith** » 10 Dec 2019 23:29

I’ve noticed that sign, too, for at least three weeks. No clue whether that means plans are in process or if they are simply preparing for future redevelopment at a yet-to-be-determined time.

Post by **cowboyeagle05** » 11 Dec 2019 09:17

I would imagine they are getting zoning in place for however they are marketing the site. Having zoning already done means the developer of a said future project doesn't have to waste time arguing with the city about what he is going to build but rather smaller details.

Post by **Tnexster** » 11 Dec 2019 14:07

Took a picture of the sign which has one of those little scan boxes on it, immediately linked to the city website and it looks like this is nothing more than an application for the Charter School renewal which makes me think nothing is going to happen here for a while unless they deny the extension.

Cbdallas · Post by **Cbdallas** » 11 Dec 2019 15:09

Charter School.......snoooooze.

Post by **cowboyeagle05** » 11 Dec 2019 15:28

False alarm everyone, go back to staring at the top of Amili Fountain place.

Post by **Tnexster** » 27 Jan 2021 17:02

Downtown Dallas’ YMCA looking for new home
Longtime building on Ross Avenue is for sale again.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... -new-home/

“After extensive research, thought and consideration, the YMCA Board of Directors approved a recommendation to market a potential sale of the Downtown Y property,” Curt Hazelbaker, President and Chief Executive Officer, YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, said in a statement. “Sales efforts were temporarily postponed due to the pandemic and JLL has relaunched the marketing process for the site.

“However, the sale of the building will be contingent upon finding the right solution for the Y, our members and community.”

Post by **cowboyeagle05** » 27 Jan 2021 19:45

I wonder if Headington will look at it seriously or if the collapse of many of his efforts on Main Street will keep him from making a play for this site. After all, he already owns the multiple parking lots next door. It seems if he did buy it the YMCA would probably sell with a short-term lease along with a coordinated effort with Headingint for the construction of a replacement location.

willyk · Post by **willyk** » 28 Jan 2021 00:13

/\ good idea. JV could work too.

Post by **undefinedprocess** » 28 Jan 2021 09:11

Okay, just curious. I wanna hear everyone's *ultimate fantasy* development for this piece of land. Supertall? Park? You get the idea. In your perfect world, what would replace the downtown Y? And if you'd rather it remain, put on your thinking cap and play along. I'm curious to see what y'all would like to see.

Post by **Tnexster** » 28 Jan 2021 09:19

undefinedprocess wrote:Okay, just curious. I wanna hear everyone's *ultimate fantasy* development for this piece of land. Supertall? Park? You get the idea. In your perfect world, what would replace the downtown Y? And if you'd rather it remain, put on your thinking cap and play along. I'm curious to see what y'all would like to see.

I sort of like towers in the 40 to 50 story range and would love to see another big tower along Ross. Maybe ultimate fantasy is a new 50 floor Fairmont Hotel on this site and then repurpose the old hotel site into residential and maybe additional residential.

Post by **undefinedprocess** » 28 Jan 2021 09:28

Tnexster wrote:
undefinedprocess wrote:Okay, just curious. I wanna hear everyone's *ultimate fantasy* development for this piece of land. Supertall? Park? You get the idea. In your perfect world, what would replace the downtown Y? And if you'd rather it remain, put on your thinking cap and play along. I'm curious to see what y'all would like to see.

I sort of like towers in the 40 to 50 story range and would love to see another big tower along Ross. Maybe ultimate fantasy is a new 50 floor Fairmont Hotel on this site and then repurpose the old hotel site into residential and maybe additional residential.

Let me know if you find a working cut & paste tool. Trying to SimCity the ATX Fairmont and plop it in Dallas somewhere... :lol:

Post by **Tnexster** » 28 Jan 2021 10:07

undefinedprocess wrote:
Tnexster wrote:
undefinedprocess wrote:Okay, just curious. I wanna hear everyone's *ultimate fantasy* development for this piece of land. Supertall? Park? You get the idea. In your perfect world, what would replace the downtown Y? And if you'd rather it remain, put on your thinking cap and play along. I'm curious to see what y'all would like to see.

I sort of like towers in the 40 to 50 story range and would love to see another big tower along Ross. Maybe ultimate fantasy is a new 50 floor Fairmont Hotel on this site and then repurpose the old hotel site into residential and maybe additional residential.

Let me know if you find a working cut & paste tool. Trying to SimCity the ATX Fairmont and plop it in Dallas somewhere...

Nice, I liked the proposed Austin Fairmont tower over what was eventually built. Think that previous plan would look great on Ross.

Post by **dfwcre8tive** » 30 Jan 2021 00:26

My vote goes to a modernized version of the Sanford Center. I believe the current building is the uncompleted base for this tower, right? The parking deck and ground floor were completed and occupied by a bank until the YMCA renovated/added space when they relocated here in 1980. The foundation should be in place for a 26-story apartment tower.

The Fairmont Hotel building across the street (originally planned as apartments) was just barely ahead of this one in terms of construction schedule (1962). This was the hot corner in town at the time.

sanfordcenter.jpg

Post by **tamtagon** » 30 Jan 2021 09:01

Nice history!

rono3849 · Post by **rono3849** » 30 Jan 2021 16:39

dfwcre8tive wrote:My vote goes to a modernized version of the Sanford Center. I believe the current building is the uncompleted base for this tower, right? The parking deck and ground floor were completed and occupied by a bank until the YMCA renovated/added space when they relocated here in 1980. The foundation should be in place for a 26-story apartment tower.

The Fairmont Hotel building across the street (originally planned as apartments) was just barely ahead of this one in terms of construction schedule (1962). This was the hot corner in town at the time.

sanfordcenter.jpg

Carey.Plaza.jpg

The Fairmont Hotel towers, which were originally known as Cary Plaza, sat unfinished for a number of years in the 1960's after the original developer ran out of money. It was just a skeleton of the building without a façade. It was a real eyesore on the skyline.

Here's a link to an article in the Dallas Morning News about the history of the buildings:

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... 50th-year/

Post by **tamtagon** » 30 Jan 2021 17:02

For a couple years, back before the turn of the century, the Fairmont hotel bar was one of my gang's favorite meeting/starting point before a night out on the town. It got too popular after everybody else found out where we were getting started, so we moved the party. I'm just glad Bar of Soap seemed too scary for most of the followers. Even Mai's got overrun hahaha

I45Tex · Post by **I45Tex** » 30 Jan 2021 17:07

"...Sanford is perhaps most widely known as the founder of the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl game in Dallas, which he first staged in 1936." Neat!

The tower looked to me like a flatiron Elm Place. The office building going up on the northeast corner at that time for Southwestern Life Insurance, now Hunt-owned, and the FBC Dallas parking garage are two other pieces of the puzzle that could make this intersection more interesting and attractive if renovated.

zblevinz555 · Post by **zblevinz555** » 20 Feb 2021 12:38

I’m an idiot lol sorry for the mix up and putting those posts on so good I over looked this thread

Post by **undefinedprocess** » 28 Jun 2022 22:59

Bumping this one to make Headington's senses tingle, wherever he be and whatever he be doing right now. Want this site to go vertical and get developed so very badly. Also bumping for a non-stupid reason: to see if anyone's heard/seen anything. I know myself and most of you haven't (since this thread has been dead for nearly a year and a half).

Post by **Tnexster** » 16 Jun 2023 09:40

Downtown Dallas’ YMCA has a buyer. Members of its board aren’t happy about it
When the T. Boone Pickens YMCA was listed in 2021, a sale was contingent on finding a replacement. Now, with an offer in hand, the Y is no longer committed to keeping a presence downtown.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/rea ... -about-it/

‘Not committed to being in downtown’

The all-cash offer for the downtown Y, made in the form of a letter of intent, likely totals around $12 million. Its prospective buyer intends to convert it into a mixed-use apartment project. That’s according to information in a May 26 internal email from Hazelbaker that critics of the sale sent to The News. The email doesn’t identify the potential buyer.

eburress · Post by **eburress** » 16 Jun 2023 10:08

Frankly, mixed-use residential is a best case scenario, in my opinion. There could always be a ground-floor gym so the only thing lost is that ugly YMCA structure.

Post by **Tnexster** » 16 Jun 2023 10:48

Mixed is best, maybe we have a chance at something taller. Downtown needs more residents and this part of downtown could use a lot more residential as it seems very office heavy. I don't know that we need another hotel right in that spot but who knows.

Wonder who the buyer is?

MC_ScattCat · Post by **MC_ScattCat** » 16 Jun 2023 13:05

My vote is a mixed use supertall. It's surrounded by other tall buildings making it blend in nice. That's just me though.

Post by **Tnexster** » 16 Jun 2023 13:46

After being in Chicago last weekend and seeing the abundance of new supertall residential towers that have gone up in the past few years I wish we could get one of those. I believe the most recent opening is One Chicago which is over 70 floors.

scott2 · Post by **scott2** » 17 Jun 2023 12:40

But the article said they planned to "convert" the building not tear it down and build something new. It seemed very specific about that.

zblevinz555 · Post by **zblevinz555** » 17 Jun 2023 13:56

Tnexster wrote:Mixed is best, maybe we have a chance at something taller. Downtown needs more residents and this part of downtown could use a lot more residential as it seems very office heavy. I don't know that we need another hotel right in that spot but who knows.

Wonder who the buyer is?

Maybe Tim Headington?

Post by **Tnexster** » 18 Sep 2023 10:38

Downtown YMCA to close after Nov. 25 following sale of property
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas said it was under contract to sell the location Friday.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/09 ... rkey-trot/

The T. Boone Pickens YMCA in downtown Dallas will officially close after Nov. 25, according to an internal email to employees from YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas president and CEO Curt Hazelbaker.

The closing comes after a controversial sale process. Y leadership announced Friday that it was officially under contract to sell the Ross Avenue and Akard Street location. They did not disclose the buyers nor the price, but the building has been estimated to be worth around $12 million.

Cbdallas · Post by **Cbdallas** » 18 Sep 2023 10:54

This will all depend who the secret entity is that purchased it. I as well hope for something tall and big here but I always do with any site near the city center.

Post by **Tnexster** » 18 Sep 2023 12:02

Cbdallas wrote:This will all depend who the secret entity is that purchased it. I as well hope for something tall and big here but I always do with any site near the city center.

There is a nice little cafe in this building which I assume will close now. My fear it is gets demolished and then we have yet another block of empty space sitting next to the Headington blocks of empty surface lots. Even the surface lots are basically empty these days.

Dallas_Uptown · Post by **Dallas_Uptown** » 18 Sep 2023 12:11

Tnexster wrote:Downtown YMCA to close after Nov. 25 following sale of property
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas said it was under contract to sell the location Friday.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/09 ... rkey-trot/

The T. Boone Pickens YMCA in downtown Dallas will officially close after Nov. 25, according to an internal email to employees from YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas president and CEO Curt Hazelbaker.

The closing comes after a controversial sale process. Y leadership announced Friday that it was officially under contract to sell the Ross Avenue and Akard Street location. They did not disclose the buyers nor the price, but the building has been estimated to be worth around $12 million.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but the secrecy smells to High Heaven.

Post by **Tnexster** » 18 Sep 2023 12:25

Why would it need to be a secret?

itsjrd1964 · Post by **itsjrd1964** » 18 Sep 2023 14:37

So would the Park Cities Y on Preston be the closest to downtown when this one closes?

rono3849 · Post by **rono3849** » 18 Sep 2023 15:25

At one time, the Downtown Y had a huge membership. I guess the Downtown Y's district has lost potential members to out lying areas of the city's core. So many companies have downsized their offices and workers are staying home. There doesn't seem to be a demand for a lot of new office space.

thelivingworld · Post by **thelivingworld** » 18 Sep 2023 23:07

Article from 2021 said they had lost 43% of memberships due to the pandemic and having fewer office workers downtown. Tim Rogers thinks it could be Headington who bought it.
https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2 ... rking-lot/
Last valued at 12 million, needs 8 million in repairs. So this and the Wilson, the Kirby, Purse Building, Landmark Center, the Statler, old Spaghetti Warehouse building, the Mercantile and the apartment tower in front of it, Mercantile Continental all for sale or recently sold within the last several months.

Dallas_Uptown · Post by **Dallas_Uptown** » 21 Sep 2023 14:25

thelivingworld wrote:Article from 2021 said they had lost 43% of memberships due to the pandemic and having fewer office workers downtown. Tim Rogers thinks it could be Headington who bought it.
https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2 ... rking-lot/
Last valued at 12 million, needs 8 million in repairs. So this and the Wilson, the Kirby, Purse Building, Landmark Center, the Statler, old Spaghetti Warehouse building, the Mercantile and the apartment tower in front of it, Mercantile Continental all for sale or recently sold within the last several months.

He's right...it will be a parking lot looking for a dream tenant who doesn't exist.

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » 21 Sep 2023 19:09

It's a shame how downtown keeps losing community features. It's one less thing that will motivate people to live or go there.

zblevinz555 · Post by **zblevinz555** » 13 Nov 2023 10:14

https://x.com/stevebrowndmn/status/1724 ... Euf4BPzlmg

I’m not well versed on this at all. What does this mean for the Y at this location? No subscription to DMN

itsjrd1964 · Post by **itsjrd1964** » 13 Nov 2023 12:15

zblevinz555 wrote:https://x.com/stevebrowndmn/status/1724097241109889097?s=46&t=ggSh9v0WoyGMEuf4BPzlmg

I’m not well versed on this at all. What does this mean for the Y at this location? No subscription to DMN

https://linkst.dallasnews.com/click/333 ... 6C68d5afc1

Post by **dfwcre8tive** » 13 Nov 2023 14:39

zblevinz555 wrote:https://x.com/stevebrowndmn/status/1724097241109889097?s=46&t=ggSh9v0WoyGMEuf4BPzlmg

I’m not well versed on this at all. What does this mean for the Y at this location? No subscription to DMN

The Y “is not actively selling the building at this time,” a spokesperson for the organization said in an email. “However, if an offer is made that is commensurate with the value of the building, the YMCA’s board of directors would have a fiduciary responsibility to evaluate it.”

“In light of this, the T. Boone Pickens YMCA will remain open, with normal operations.”

rono3849 · Post by **rono3849** » 13 Nov 2023 20:00

This section of Downtown is unique in that the Fairmont, Fountain Place, & DMA provide some fairly active foot traffic, yet the YMCA's building backs up to a large section of Downtown that is a sea of asphalt parking lots. It really isn't that inviting for developers. JMO.

Post by **CTroyMathis** » 13 Nov 2023 21:27

Funny thing is, the reason they are all parking lots all around Fountain Place and on and on is because developers did find it inviting at a time here and there back whenever. Parking lots are easier to develop than dropping a building, so why not go there first instead one could wonder. Although, we've certainly had a substantial building dropped and replaced by turf and a giant eyeball. That sure made a ton of sense. Nothing is really black and white. Someone from outside the region is probably who needs to come in and see the immediate potential and action it instead of a current entity sitting on flat top parking money for as long as they want without warrant. As for the Y, I have no idea whats up there, I guess few do outside of them.

MC_ScattCat · Post by **MC_ScattCat** » 14 Nov 2023 09:33

If I'm playing SimCity with Dallas this location is where I would put a supertall. It would blend in nicely with the skyline.