Downtown Phoenix YMCA to close; demolition request surfaces

PHOENIX – After nearly 75 years in downtown Phoenix, the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA is closing on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The downtown Y is an institution in Phoenix. Legions of local kids learned to swim in its indoor pool, CEOs and office workers alike flocked to its indoor gym for lunchtime pickup basketball games and it was one of the few YMCAs in the country that still offered low-cost residential housing.

Now, residents will have to find somewhere else to live, and those who relied on the YMCA’s weekly food pantry will have to travel farther for assistance.

The YMCA is not only closing, but Dickens Quality Demolition LLC on behalf of the building owners has applied to the city to demolish the historic building at 352-356 N. First Ave.

Saneeya Mir, public information officer for Phoenix’s Historic Preservation Office, said the building is eligible for designation on the Phoenix Historic Property Register.

Since the property is eligible, the application is subject to a 60-day hold, Mir said. If the Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission initiates historic designation, the demolition would be temporarily halted while the process moves forward. If the commission does not take action, the owners are eligible to obtain a demolition permit after the 60-day period, according to Mir.

While the future of the YMCA building remains undecided, a spokesperson for the Valley of the Sun YMCA said they plan to continue their presence in downtown Phoenix.

“The Valley of the Sun YMCA remains deeply committed to downtown Phoenix,” said the spokesperson. “Our plan is to reimagine the current site and build a new downtown Phoenix YMCA that will serve the community for generations to come.”

The YMCA was more than just a fitness facility. Downtown workers found a convenient way to make the most out of their lunch breaks – enjoying the basketball court, training equipment and indoor pool.

“It’s been a place where a lot of people found, I think, personal sanctuary…,” Craig Harris, a YMCA member and 12News investigative reporter, said. “It was a safe place to go get food with no judgment, and it was a safe place to go work out at a very modest, low cost.”

Harris, who worked for the Arizona Republic from 2000 to 2021, recalled spending his lunch breaks playing basketball with a group of downtown workers. Amongst the group was Harris’ fellow reporter Dennis Wagner who found solace in the environment the YMCA provided.

“It was just a great place for me to get the stress out from journalism … find a pickup basketball game, be the last one chosen to be on a team, and if I got one basket, it was a good day,” Wagner said.

The YMCA provided a food pantry in partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank that supplied free food boxes to more than 100 individuals and families every Wednesday afternoon.

“They treat people with dignity who go there, and they get fresh fruit, they get fresh vegetables,” Harris said. “They truly live out their mission.”

Locals who frequented the pantry said they were disheartened by news of the closure. Many will now have to make longer trips for food assistance.

“I think it would be a little difficult,” Christopher Zandr said. “If it’s further, it’s going to require you to know about public transportation. That would be a little complex. That would be a difficult situation.”

Ashanique Briggs, who also uses the pantry, said the closure will force her and her family to make longer trips to other locations such as the South Phoenix Baptist Church or Harvest Compassion.

The Valley of the Sun YMCA operates a food pantry at the Watts Family Maryvale YMCA, and their spokesperson said they plan to open another one at the Legacy Foundation Chris-Town YMCA.

In terms of their low-income housing residents, the spokesperson said they are helping residents relocate. “Supporting our residents throughout this process has been a top priority,” he said. “Every current resident has met one-on-one with a YMCA case manager, and our housing team continues to work individually with residents to identify housing opportunities, connect them with resources and assist them with their move.”

But residents aren’t happy that they have to move. On Sept. 6, the Valley Tenants Union sent the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA a letter demanding no evictions, financial support, extension of the housing program until Jan. 1, 2027, rent refunds to all 2026 tenants and the cancellation of September rent.

“While we appreciate the shelter and resources that the YMCA housing program has provided, we are now being betrayed by the very people who once opened their doors to us,” the letter stated. “This is distressing and takes a significant emotional toll on us.”

The Union followed up on its Instagram account saying that the LIncoln Family Downtown YMCA had not responded to the letter, which prompted an “All eyes on the Y” protest on Friday, Sept. 18. The Valley Tenants Union is an organization that fights for tenant rights.

The Lincoln Family YMCA did not return emails requesting comment on the Union’s requests.

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