Since opening in 1996, the Downtown Durham YMCA has been critical to the Bull City’s revitalization, helping lead the return to the city’s center.
As the Durham Community continues to grow, the Y is committed to matching the growth. Today, the Durham YMCAs serve nearly 10,000 members. However, the current Downtown Durham YMCA on Morgan Street is an aging facility with limited program spaces to serve the community.
Growing with Community
A new YMCA in Downtown Durham will become a vital health and wellness hub to improve community health and accessibility for all.
The YMCA of the Triangle acquired a .79-acre property from CBC Real Estate at the corner of Blackwell and W. Pettigrew Streets. The site will become home to a new, state-of-the-art Downtown Durham YMCA with expanded services to the community.
General Questions
What amenities will be included in the new Downtown Durham YMCA?
The new 65,000-square-foot facility will include multiple rooftop terraces with outdoor fitness areas, an indoor pool, a full basketball court, an indoor track, group fitness studios and dedicated space for youth and family programming as well as community collaborations. Plans also include 80 onsite parking spaces and access to additional reserved spaces near the facility.
Efforts are underway to partner with a healthcare provider to operate an onsite primary care clinic to help meet the needs of the community.
How will the new Downtown Durham Y continue to serve the community?
Community engagement and collaborations are the hallmarks of the YMCA and will remain responsive to the entire Durham community. Here are some of the key partners of the Downtown Durham YMCA:
- Duke Health partners with the Y on health programs serving as a referral system to local diabetes prevention programs.
- Lincoln Community Health Center promotes and provides space for chronic disease prevention programs for the community that are staffed and operated by the Y.
- Durham Public Schools provide space for Y Academic Support programs and summer day camps. In addition, DPS helps identify children for these programs.
- Durham Children's Initiative (DCI) works closely with the Y on programming for children across Durham, including after school and camp programs for students identified by DCI.
- Multiple faith communities offer volunteers, financial assistance to children and teens who participate in Y programs, and space for in-person educational programs during the pandemic.
What is the timeline of the project?
The YMCA anticipates that construction will begin in 2027 with plans to open the facility in early 2029.
Will members be able to continue using the current Downtown Durham Y?
We anticipate that the Downtown Durham YMCA will remain open during the construction of the new facility.
Will members be able to continue using the YMCA at American Tobacco?
We anticipate that the YMCA at American Tobacco will remain open during the construction of the new facility.
Durham YMCA members have access to other locations in Durham and all YMCA of the Triangle facilities located throughout the region.
The new property has a parking lot on it today. What’s going to happen to it?
The Railroad Lot (205 Blackwell St.) is a private, secured-access parking lot used by employees at the American Tobacco Campus and the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). The lot is also used for VIP event parking for DPAC performances. Use of the lot will remain unimpacted through at least summer 2026, aligning with the 2025-2026 DPAC performance season. Once construction begins, parking users of the Railroad Lot will be reassigned and redirected to the other parking facilities available at the American Tobacco Campus.
Who will be involved in the design and construction of the new facility?
CBC Real Estate will provide development and construction management services. A selection process is underway to choose the design team for this facility. A contractor will be selected at a later point in time.
What will be the cost of the construction of the new facility?
The cost of this state-of-the-art facility is estimated to be $46M.
The YMCA of the Triangle previously planned to rebuild the Downtown Durham YMCA on its current site. What happened with that plan?
In 2022, the YMCA of the Triangle announced the launch of the Heart of Durham project which included the rebuilding of the Downtown Durham YMCA on its current site. Due to market shifts, YMCA leaders, volunteers and partners slowed the pace of the project to match economic conditions in 2023.
- The YMCA’s agreement with the development company expired in 2024. However, the Y’s commitment to build a new, state-of-the-art YMCA in downtown Durham remained stronger than ever.
- In 2024, the YMCA entered the due diligence phase of exploring a new location in Downtown Durham for a free-standing full-service YMCA.
- In December 2024, the YMCA of the Triangle signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to purchase .79 acres of land from CBC Real Estate (a division of Capitol Broadcasting Company).
- In September 2025, the YMCA of the Triangle announced an agreement to purchase a .79-acre property from CBC Real Estate, at the corner of Blackwell and W. Pettigrew Streets to be the future home of the new Downtown Durham YMCA.