YMCA ANNOUNCES PLAN TO SELL ITS ESCONDIDO CAMPUS

Pandemic pushed financially struggling facility over the edge

The YMCA of San Diego County, buffeted by the forced closure of its facilities and the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic over the past year, has opted to sell its Escondido campus, which has served all ages of city residents for decades with fitness, recreational and social programs.

The board of directors of the nonprofit parent organization, which operates about 20 YMCA branches throughout the county, recently directed its staff to begin seeking a buyer for the seven-acre Escondido property, at 1050 N. Broadway.

The campus contains 85,000 square feet of indoor space in several buildings, including a preschool, gymnastics center, basketball gym, fitness center, multipurpose exercise rooms, locker rooms, offices and an outdoor swimming pool. YMCA officials declined to provide an estimate of the property’s worth.

Asked about the organization’s decision to sell the Escondido property now, Shelly Mctighe-rippengale, the YMCA’S senior vice president and chief development officer, said, “I can tell you why in five letters — C-O-V-I-D.”

It’s been about a year since county and state health officials first ordered the closure of gyms and fitness centers to control the spread of the coronavirus. While the YMCA has expanded online offerings of exercise classes, and scheduled outdoor activities in some locations, the YMCA hasn’t been able to use most of its indoor spaces during the past year, and membership has taken a hit, said Mctighe-rippengale.

“That’s been financially devastating for the organization,” she said.

The Escondido branch, known as the Palomar Family YMCA, had been struggling financially even before the pandemic, and its operations were subsidized by the parent organization, said Mctighe-rippengale. Palomar is also one of the YMCA branches owned by the nonprofit, while other facilities are leased.

Under a best-case scenario, said Mctighe-rippengale, the YMCA will find a nonprofit agency as a buyer that will continue to use the facility to serve the community, and perhaps even lease a portion of the building back to the YMCA so it can continue programs for youths and children. If not, the YMCA will look for another location to maintain a physical presence.

“The core of our programs going forward in Escondido will be youthbased,” such as before- and after-school care at elementary school campuses, transition programs for teens and young adults, and potentially youth sports and summer camps, she said.

“We like to say the YMCA is so much more than a building. We don’t need to have that campus to be impactful in the community,” said Courtney Pendleton, a spokeswoman for the YMCA of San Diego County.

But city officials expressed dismay that the YMCA, which has been a presence in Escondido for 50 years, would be closing its main campus and likely scaling back its programs.

Mayor Paul Mcnamara said he and his fellow City Council members want to see the YMCA campus continue in its role as a “community asset.” The council discussed the potential sale of the YMCA property in closed session in early March and will raise the topic again in an upcoming closed session.

“I was very disappointed to hear it was closing and would love for it to be a community asset and the (city) staff is looking into that possibility,” Mcnamara said.

The city has the “right of first refusal” if a buyer comes forward, meaning the city would have the right to match the offer and purchase the property, said City Manager Jeffrey Epp.

That clause was contained in a 2000 agreement between the city and the YMCA, when the city awarded a $1.5 million grant to the YMCA to help pay for the cost of a planned $7.6 million expansion of its North Broadway campus.

Under the agreement, the city was to pay the YMCA installments of $300,000 per year for five years. In return, the YMCA agreed to operate the newly constructed facility for 25 years. If, within the 25-year period the YMCA decided not to continue operating the facility, it triggered the city’s right of first refusal.

At the time the city announced its grant, an anonymous YMCA board member also pledged a $2 million donation toward the project, and the YMCA planned to launch a public fundraising drive.

Epp said it is not clear the city would have the money to buy the property, and that is something the City Council would have to discuss.

Published reports at the time of the city’s grant award provide a stark illustration of the Palomar Family YMCA’S declining fortunes over the past two decades. In 2000, according to the reports, the Escondido branch of the YMCA had 3,800 members.

Today, one year into the pandemic, the branch has just 90 members, including families, seniors and adults, wrote Pendleton, the spokeswoman, in an email.

Those financial realities have forced the board to make some tough decisions, said Mctighe-rippengale, and it’s possible other facilities could be closed or sold in the future.

“It’s heartbreaking to have to work in this direction. But I’m confident the YMCA is going to strengthen our financial future so we can continue to serve and impact (the community) positively,” she said.