Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell is calling the $42.5 million sale of the Morrison Family YMCA to Moments of Hope Church a "crummy deal" that left the county without a chance to bid.
Rodriguez-McDowell, a Democrat representing District 6 including Ballantyne, told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday, Sept. 1, that the YMCA of Greater Charlotte cut the county out of the negotiation process. A county spokesperson said Mecklenburg County was informed of the YMCA's plans at a March 17 meeting, three months before the public announcement. But Rodriguez-McDowell said the YMCA should have offered the county a right of first refusal, given decades of shared use of the 22-acre property and the adjacent 90-acre Ballantyne District Park.
Rodriguez-McDowell said the YMCA walked away from the partnership without entertaining other bidders and that the county might have matched the church's offer.
In an Aug. 31 email to YMCA CEO Sue Glass shared with the Observer, Rodriguez-McDowell called the YMCA's failure to notify the county during months of negotiations "unforgivable." She estimated that building a comparable county-run recreation center with fitness, aquatics and programming would cost taxpayers $100 million. No such project is underway.
The county historically avoided building a regional recreation center near Ballantyne because the YMCA already served the area, according to Rodriguez-McDowell. She also raised concerns about losing childcare, preschool and after-school programs in an area already facing a shortage of care for children under age 5.
Morrison family speaks out
The backlash now extends to the family whose name is on the building.
Cameron Harris, a grandson of former N.C. Gov. Cameron A. Morrison, spoke against the sale on Tuesday, Sept. 1, during filming of a documentary produced by the opposition steering committee. Harris said the family's original intent was to build a community, not a real estate asset. The Morrison YMCA, which opened in 1999 at 9405 Bryant Farms Road, is named for the former governor and his wife, Sara Morrison.
In the 1990s, Harris and fellow Ballantyne Development Corp. developers Sara Harris Bissell and Johnny Harris donated 90 acres to Mecklenburg County for a school, fire station and district park. They also backed the YMCA's plans for a branch on the site.
Petition tops 6,500 signatures
An online petition started by Ballantyne resident Joseph Navarro has collected more than 6,500 signatures as of Thursday, Sept. 3. Residents held a protest in July that drew hundreds and have since formed a coalition and steering committee to coordinate opposition.
Navarro said YMCA leadership has avoided meetings with the groups trying to save the branch. The Morrison YMCA serves about 4,200 member households and employs 17 full-time and 273 part-time workers.
The YMCA has defended the sale as a way to fund a $100 million reinvestment plan for upgrades at other facilities, some not updated in 20 years. The organization reported an $11.4 million deficit in 2024, according to its IRS Form 990 filing, though it posted a net income of $204,364 in 2025.
Moments of Hope pastor David Chadwick told his congregation during a July sermon, as The Assembly NC reported Aug. 18, that the purchase is "a done deal … No matter how many people protest, no matter how many people sign a petition, this is a done deal." The church had raised more than half the purchase price at that time.
A county spokesperson said Sept. 3 that the county recognized the sale was the YMCA's decision and timeline to control. No formal offer was ever made between the county and the YMCA, according to both sides.
The Morrison YMCA will remain open through the anticipated closing in summer 2027, according to a YMCA statement. No public hearing or county commission vote on the sale has been scheduled.
