Downtown YMCA


The Downtown YMCA is a historic YMCA building in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. It is the largest YMCA resident facility in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The seven-story building was designed in the Jacobethan Revival and Late Gothic Revival styles by Walter F. Shattuck. The YMCA was first established in Columbus in 1855, reorganized in 1875, and moved locations numerous times. The organization purchased the lot for the current YMCA in 1916, with delayed construction due to World War I. The building was constructed in 1923 and dedicated in 1924.
With no renovation since about 1997, and after years of studying potential renovations, the 403-unit building is set to close in three to seven years, as the YMCA moves its residents to newer facilities. The building has a market value of $5.6 million, and would require $50-60 million in renovation, not affordable as it is close to the Columbus YMCA's entire annual budget. The organization plans to lease out a facility and redistribute residents to existing facilities, and to build a new full-service downtown facility for its 3,400 YMCA members in the next five to ten years. The YMCA is confident the building can be repurposed, having talked to 8-10 developers, with none who have toured having proposed demolishing it.