New tall building on downtown YMCA site?

Based on absolutely nothing, it seems like *something* will happen at the McDonald’s site. It’s now been 6 months since they shut down the restaurant. You’d think it would have been rebuilt by now if that was the plan.

From today's N&O

"Plans are already in motion for the city’s third 27-floor building: the new downtown YMCA, which is being redeveloped by Chapel Hill’s East West Partners. “We might have been able to go one story higher, but we were kind of limited by what we could park,” project manager Ben Perry said in an interview earlier this month. The redeveloped YMCA is expected to break ground later this year and be completed in 2025 or later."

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article258887873.html#storylink=cpy

Minor update of the timeline from a Durham YMCA email:

"While we initially estimated the closure of the facility in early fall 2022, we now anticipate closing the Downtown Durham YMCA for operations at the end of 2022. Demolition of the current facility will take place soon after. The new facility will be built on the footprint of our current location."

Looks like an updated rendering on the structural engineer's website.

https://lynchmykins.com/projects/tower/downtown-durham-ymca/

That's giving me some MCM vibes

So it's gone from 27 stories to 30? 20 stories on top of a 10 story parking deck?

We have any idea when the Y will close/be demolished and when they'll break ground?

I think they recently said the Y would be open through at least the end of the year. So likely early 2023 for anything to really start happening there.

Whoops just saw that SeriousPetes already covered this back in July.

I saw on Reddit that an email was sent out to Y members that they are now planning on keeping the Y open through the end of 2023, with any work to start next year. Not surprising, but disappointing.

Unfortunate to see the project delayed but it does really seem like a temporary situation waiting for market conditions to improve. That should start to happen later this year/early next it prognosticators are correct.