After more than a century, Springfield's downtown YMCA will close at the end of March

Susan Szuch, Springfield News-Leader
·1 min read

After more than 100 years, the Ward Downtown YMCA is closing at the end of March. The building, at 417 S. Jefferson Ave., opened in 1913, according to the Springfield-Greene County Library District. Its last day with the YMCA as tenants will be March 31, according to other local news sources.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the Ozarks Regional YMCA, no response was received by publication time.

Members who use Ward Downtown YMCA will be able to use the Pat Jones YMCA, 1901 E. Republic Road, and other ORYMCA branches, according to a letter to members from June 2022. Those branches include the Cassville YMCA, Dallas County Area YMCA, Lebanon Family YMCA, Ozark Mountain Family YMCA, and Monett Area YMCA.

June 2022:Ozarks Regional YMCA looks to sell downtown Springfield property for $4.5 million

In that letter, CEO Kathryn Custer said "it is not anticipated that any Ward YMCA employees will be displaced because of any decisions related to the current facilities."

In June 2022, the Ozarks Regional YMCA announced that the Ward Downtown YMCA was for sale, citing declining membership and increasing maintenance costs in a letter to its members. At the time, the 62,000 square foot building was listed for $4.5 million. According to the current listing, the building will go up for auction on March 27, with the starting price at $750,000.

More:Ozarks Regional YMCA is keeping kids in southwest Missouri fed until school starts

The 61,000 square foot building houses a gymnasium, indoor pool, locker rooms, office spaces, meeting rooms and a kitchen area. It is also on the local historic register, meaning it cannot be demolished or its exterior altered without prior approval by the Landmarks board.

Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: After more than 100 years, downtown Springfield YMCA to close March 31