A version of the following article appeared in the June 19, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Residents brace for big loss, while Y leaders say it’s an unexpected opportunity; Church must still raise money for the purchase, pastor says
The Morrison YMCA in Ballantyne would close and be sold to Memories of Hope Church, which some Ballantyne residents say removes a fixture in their community. (Photo courtesy of YMCA of Greater Charlotte)
by Tony Mecia
When A.J. Spring heard the surprising news Wednesday that the Morrison YMCA in Ballantyne would close and be sold to a church, he had a lot of thoughts:
Would it mean that Sara’s YMCA, where he lifts weights and does cardio, will become more crowded?
What about the families who depend on the Morrison Y for summer camps? Or the moms who use the childcare to be able to work out?
And what does it mean for Ballantyne, which has no libraries and few parks, to lose such a major community gathering space?
“I think it’s going to have an interesting ripple effect on a lot of different things,” said Spring, a 39-year-old south Charlotte accountant with three young kids.
Throughout south Charlotte, many residents were left grappling with similar questions that went beyond where they will work out when the Morrison YMCA closes in the summer of 2027.
Many mourned the loss of the spot where their children attended camps and birthday parties or frolicked in the shallow outdoor pool with small waterslides. Others wondered why the YMCA of Greater Charlotte opted to close the branch in such a family-friendly part of town.
Some noted the irony that the Morrison Y is being bought by a church, Moments of Hope, that was started by well-known Charlotte pastor David Chadwick in 2019 after he was forced out of Forest Hill Church. Forest Hill has a satellite Sunday worship location at the Morrison Y, so Chadwick’s new church will likely kick out his old one.
An online petition to “Save the Morrison Family YMCA and Protect Ballantyne’s Community Legacy” had more than 2,800 signatures as of Friday morning.
More than 4,000 families use the Morrison YMCA, and many thousands more have spent time there over the years.
“It’s hard to picture Ballantyne without the Morrison Y,” said Ballantyne lawyer Allen Starrett. “It has been the family-oriented cornerstone of our community for years.”
An unanticipated offer
In an interview with The Ledger, leaders of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte emphasized that the sale of the Morrison YMCA is part of a greater modernization strategy and that they will continue offering programs at other YMCAs – including Sara’s YMCA in Ballantyne, where it anticipates enhancing programs. Compared with the Morrison Y, Sara’s Y is less-used, has no pool and seems to cater to workers in the Ballantyne Corporate Park.
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