DENVER — The historic Downtown Denver YMCA on E.16th Ave. will close its doors after nearly 150 years of operation to be sold and transformed into affordable housing units.
YMCA of Metropolitan Denver (Denver YMCA) said the gym will officially close on December 30, marking the end of an era for the facility that's older than the state of Colorado itself. The 45,000 square-foot property will be sold to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) to address Denver's affordable housing crisis, according to both organizations.
CCH bought the majority of the YMCA's location in 2001 and converted the upper floors into around 200 units of permanent supportive housing. Chief Communications and Public Policy Officer for CCH Cathy Alderman said the need for affordable housing in downtown is great, as the average cost of rent in Denver is more than $1,800.
"While we've made a lot of progress in getting people experiencing homelessness inside, there's not a lot of options for them to move out of those non-congregate shelters or those motels into affordable housing, because we just don't have enough," Alderman said.
Mile High United Way reports 51% of renters in Colorado spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Denver YMCA CEO Breezy Bolden cited the decrease in downtown workers using the gym post-COVID as one factor in their decision to sell the gym.
"Historically, the downtown Denver YMCA has served our business community as well as residents in the area. The business landscape has shifted a little bit post-COVID, with not as many of the folks working in these office buildings around us, many are working remotely," Bolden said.
Denver7 spoke with YMCA member Mike Miller, who has been using the downtown Denver gym for more than 50 years. He said the announcement of its closure is not surprising to him.
"The downtown lack of office workers... that was a big source of their membership, and they've lost a lot of that. So the membership has been down, had physical problems, so I've expected them to close it. It's not a surprise, put it that way," Miller said.
YMCA Denver said current members will be offered transfers to any of the YMCA’s five metro Denver locations: Schlessman Family YMCA in University Hills, Duncan Family YMCA in Arvada, Aurora YMCA at Wheatlands, Littleton YMCA or the Southwest YMCA.
CCH said it hopes to start renovations on the building in the fall of 2026 and open the new housing units in 2027. Alderman said residents will have to meet 80% of the area median income (AMI), while most renters will likely be between 30 and 50% AMI. CCH also plans to preserve parts of the historic building, including the basketball court.
For longtime members, like Miller, the closure means finding a new fitness home.
"It won't be as convenient. I mean, I hate to see this place close. It's a nice facility, convenient, but it's not a surprise," Miller said.
