Pasadena Y’s Decision to Close Spurs Protests

Despite opposition from some members, YMCA officials announced last week that the venerable downtown facility will likely close its doors by March 2.

The announcement came amid opposition from critics of the closure, who argue that the decision will leave a void where a popular social and cultural landmark has stood for 78 years.

Patrick M. Knox, president of the Metropolitan YMCA Board, sought to assure the 1,200 members affected by the closure that the loss will be temporary.

“The YMCA is not abandoning downtown. It is merely taking a short leave of absence,” Knox stated in a Jan. 16 letter, which was also signed by Sam Brown, the YMCA’s interim general director.

But YMCA member Kenneth George, who says he has gathered 342 signatures on a petition calling for the resignation of all 34 Metropolitan Board members over the closure, criticized the decision as not being in the best interests of the membership.

‘Very Disappointed’

“I’m very, very disappointed with the letter, but I expected it,” he said. “We feel we have proven the point that the vast majority of the members want it to stay open.”

YMCA officials plan to sell the facility, saying that structural deficiencies are too costly to repair and the association needs space for programs such as day care.

They hope the sale will net $3.45 million. In an interview, Knox said the money would be used to open another downtown location. YMCA members whose dues are paid beyond March, will be able to use neighboring YMCA facilities, he said.

Under an agreement expected to be executed this week, part of the building will be sold to the Pasadena Housing Alliance and the Los Angeles Community Design Center, which plan to continue providing low-income housing. The building, in which 132 rooms are rented at a low cost, will be rehabilitated and new rental units will be added to the first floor.

The Janss Corp., a real estate development firm, has agreed to buy the Bacon wing of the facility, which houses the running track, and plans to build more low-income housing.

In December, plans for a joint facility to house the YMCA and the YWCA, which operates a facility across the street from the YMCA, died when a $15 million credit line could not be secured.

Renovations Needed

After the city refused to intervene, the YMCA board pushed ahead with plans to sell. The YMCA building needs more than $6 million in renovations to meet seismic safety and fire codes, and expensive repairs to remove asbestos, Knox said. In addition, the facility, built in 1911, no longer meets all the association’s current needs, including day care, and has been losing money, he said.

George, saying the Metropolitan Board has mismanaged the facility, claims the rehabilitation costs are inflated. He said YMCA officials have sought an excuse to close the Holly Street building. George and other YMCA members are mounting a drive to block the sale.

The YMCA and YWCA unveiled a petition this week asking the Pasadena Board of Directors to help ensure that a joint facility is built downtown by providing financial support or by selling city-owned land at an affordable price.

In the petition, YMCA and YWCA officials say municipal red tape is partly to blame for the failure of the earlier effort to renovate the YMCA. The effort was abandoned because of delays and city-requested design changes.

“Hopefully, we’ll put pressure on the city to come through on this,” Knox said. “They are, at least we’ve been told, supporting getting a YMCA back in downtown Pasadena.”