YMCA to close 3 more branches, lay off staff
CEO cites continuing financial difficulties
Kevin Bolding arrived in Pittsburgh a decade ago as a district executive director to oversee the opening of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s then-new Downtown facility on Fifth Avenue.
He had years of experience working for the nonprofit in Detroit and Miami and he considered the Downtown Y’s new home in redeveloped space near Market Square — where new restaurants and retail were starting to spring up — to be “the most optimal location … in the epicenter.”
But by the time he was named president and chief executive of the YMCA in 2016, the lease on that facility — at about $100,000 a month — was draining the nonprofit’s resources and was a driving force that pushed the organization into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A month after closing its Downtown facility, the YMCA on Tuesday said it plans to close three more branches and cut staff due to continued financial problems. Slated for closure Aug. 31 are the Penn Hills YMCA, the Wilmerding YMCA, and the Western Area YMCA in Coraopolis.
Mr. Bolding also said the 40-person staff at the organization’s Downtown headquarters would be informed Tuesday about layoffs but he had no firm numbers about how many employees would be affected.
Employees throughout the organization may be able to transition to other jobs within the YMCA, including to new positions that may be created to support programming, the agency said.
No more branches are targeted for closure, Mr. Bolding said.
There are eight others in
Allegheny County, including a fitness center on the lower level of the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown.
The YMCA is looking to put the overall organization on a more sustainable path. When the 164-year-old nonprofit filed for bankruptcy in May, it said it was running an annual deficit of about $1 million.
The organization cited the lease at the Downtown Y as the primary reason for its financial troubles. It closed that fitness center in June, along with a branch in Delmont, Westmoreland County.
Margaret Joy, the YMCA’s board chair, said the board in March had appointed a special financial issues committee including board members and trustees to address the organization’s problems.
“The Downtown lease was the immediate issue ... but it wasn’t the only piece,” said Ms. Joy, who noted that other facilities needed investment and renovations.
Following many conversations and meetings, the special committee and board determined, “We just can’t have all these buildings,” Ms. Joy said. “It wasn’t financially sustainable the way it was and we’re not going to kick that can down the road anymore.”
Following a press briefing Tuesday at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA, Mr. Bolding said the lease for the Downtown Y with Millcraft Industries was negotiated before he arrived and well before he became chief executive in 2016.
“It’s hard if not impossible to second-guess the decision making process,” he said. “We all make mistakes and now our efforts are focused on how we correct them.”
A recent lease settlement with landlord Millcraft Industries calls for the YMCA to pay more than $2.75 million it owes the real estate developer over the next four years. The agency is now seeking to dismiss its bankruptcy case, saying the deal with Millcraft will allow it to pay off other creditors outside of court protection.
Meanwhile, the YMCA expects to save more than $1 million a year by ending operations at the branches in Penn Hills, Wilmerding and Coraopolis.
Shuttering the facilities “does not mean we are abandoning the communities,” Mr. Bolding said. “Buildings do not define who we are.”
The YMCA is in discussions with other community service providers including Allegheny County’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Mon Valley Providers Council, a human services alliance in Turtle Creek, to determine options for delivering programs and services formerly offered at the branches.
Summer camps and childcare programs currently in session at the branches will continue. The YMCA will help transition members to other before- and afterschool programs and wellness programs when the buildings close.
The YMCA is looking for buyers for the facilities in Penn Hills and Coraopolis; it leases the space in Wilmerding.
For the Penn Hills and Wilmerding branches, “We hope to find a way for them to continue to serve the community,” said Mr. Bolding.
Future use of the Western Area YMCA on Montour Run Road could be more challenging.
That branch has been closed since it sustained $650,000 worth of damage when severe storms and flooding hit the south and west suburbs of Pittsburgh in June. Even before the storms hit, the branch required an estimated $600,000 in repairs.
The decision to shutter the facility permanently was “gut-wrenching,” Mr. Bolding said.
The number of employees affected by the closure of the three branches has yet to be determined, he said, because some are part-time workers who split their responsibilities between different YMCA facilities and programs.
The Penn Hills YMCA has eight full-time employees and about 950 members; the Wilmer ding YMCA has six full-time employees and about 1,145 members; and the Western Area YMCA has nine fulltime employees and about 1,040 members.
Each branch has about 65 to 70 part-time workers.
To employees who will lose their jobs, “I am sorry,” Mr. Bolding said.
As part of its strategic plan for the future, the YMCA is also looking for a partner to oversee residential facilities it maintains at its Allegheny branch on the North Side, and the Centre Avenue branch in the Hill District.
About 90 men rent rooms at the North Side branch; about 70 rent rooms in the Hill District, said Mr. Bolding.
“Our goal is to find a partner who focuses exclusively on housing,” he said. “We’ll eventually siphon that off.”
Prior to closing, the Downtown Y had about 2,000 members and 100 employees. Mr. Bolding said he had no update on whether Millcraft had found another fitness center to occupy the space on Fifth Avenue near Market Square.
The YMCA’s annual budget is about $40 million and in addition to its branches it operates two camps in Somerset County, and one in Beaver County.
Its May bankruptcy filing listed assets of between $50 million and $100 million, and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million.