More than 4,200 people sign petition to stop the sale of Morrison YMCA

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More than 4,200 community members signed a petition to stop the sale of what they call a “cornerstone of Ballantyne.” YMCA has sold its Morrison Family Campus to Moments of Hope Church.

Members say there are a couple of YMCA facilities in close proximity but members say the Morrison location is much larger and much nicer.

Deborah and Jewel visit the Morrison YMCA at least once a week.

“We like the track over here. It’s a beautiful facility. We like coming over here.” Deborah and Jewel said.

Their days at the Morrison are numbers because the YMCA sold the property on Bryant Farms Road as a part of a reinvestment strategy. Moments of Hope Church bought the property for $42.5 million.

Now more than 4,200 people have signed this change.org petition to stop the sale calling this facility a cornerstone of the ballantyne community for its affordable recreation and childcare.

“A lot of people talking about losing this as daycare, especially for the parents. What are they going to do when the facility is closed? It’s hard to find someplace for their children to go,” Jewel said.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell represents the area. She says the county partnered with the YMCA to use adjacent park space for childcare and camps.

“Now that activation will not transfer to the buyers of the property, so that means that the county needs to find a different way to activate the park, and so that’s what we’re going to be focused on for the next year,” Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell said.

The YMCA will stay open until next year. The Morrison YMCA is in Councilman Ed Driggs district. He says there could be some rezoning needs for the church to move forward.

“It’s not inconceivable that they would be able to move ahead by right with their existing zoning, but at the same time what’s happening very often these days is people want to do something that doesn’t fit perfectly with the residential classification it has, so they apply for a different one,” Councilman Driggs said.

The YMCA says the Morrison Advisory Board is exploring options to offer some of the Morrison programming at nearby locations. In the meantime, community members are enjoying it while it lasts.

YMCA plans to share updates in the coming months on programming at Morrison and surrounding facilities.