U.S. Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks placed the original cornerstone for the Denver YMCA at the corner of 16th Avenue and Lincoln Street in late 1906 in an “elaborate and formal ceremony.”

And as this year comes to an end, so will the YMCA’s stake in its longtime downtown home at 25 E. 16th Ave.

The YMCA of Metro Denver and the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) announced on Monday the sale of the historic property for a yet-to-be-disclosed price, with operations to end on Dec. 30.

Officials said the sale is a strategic move to meet Denver’s growing need for affordable housing.

With a population of more than 729,000 and growing, the city of Denver has long struggled with an unaffordable housing market and needs to create close to 44,000 units over the next decade, according to the city’s Department of Housing Stability.

“These affordable homes in downtown Denver are precious and desperately needed,” CCH President and CEO Britta Fisher said in a statement. “We are proud to partner with the Denver YMCA to further both long-time Colorado-serving missions while honoring the legacy of this historic building.” 

There are only 26 affordable rental homes available for every 100 low-income households in Colorado, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The deal is expected to close in early January. It will allow the Coalition, which already owns the units above the YMCA, to convert the 120-year-old building into expanded affordable housing. The YMCA will close its downtown fitness operations. 

The coalition has already started working with architects and engineers, applying for financial resources, such as capital and rental assistance, and “securing necessary approvals and commitments from a wide array of stakeholders.” 

Costs for the forthcoming renovations are not yet clear, Cathy Alderman, CCH spokesperson, told The Denver Gazette.

“We have and will continue to reach out to state, local, and federal partners for funding opportunities for the renovations,” Alderman said. “We are hopeful that the sale will be completed by early next year and, after that, we will need to work with architects and engineers to determine how to best reconfigure the space, which will drive cost estimates.”

Likely sources of funding for the renovations will include low-income housing tax credits, both state and federal, and housing grants from the Colorado Division of Housing and the Denver Affordable Housing Fund, or the Homelessness Resolution Fund managed by the Denver Department of Housing Stability (HOST), she added.

“We hope to partner closely with the City of Denver to identify and place eligible individuals,” Alderman said of the very-low-income restricted units.

CCH has indicated that it expects renovations to begin in 2027. 

Renovations to the original structure, built in 1906, and the annex, added in 1954, will preserve historic features, including the original gymnasium and other legacy elements important to the building’s architecture, functions, and history.   

Many of the current units are small single-room-occupancy spaces without individual bathrooms. While the setup worked well for the YMCA’s short-term residents, CCH officials said it is not well-suited for long-term or permanent residents. 

Existing units will be updated so that all have independent bathrooms and kitchenettes.

In 2001, the YMCA sold a large slice of the property to the coalition, retaining approximately 45,000 square feet for fitness activities, while the coalition operated 216 permanent supportive housing units on the upper floors.

In 2004, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

YMCA memberships never fully recovered from the pandemic, dropping from a couple of thousand members before the COVID outbreak to fewer than 1,000 afterward, Breezy Bolden, president and CEO of YMCA of Metropolitan Denver, told The Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9News.

City records list the property’s total appraised value at $31,557,600, with the last recorded sale of $5,450,000, from Central Y Housing Corp. to Civic Center Apartments LLP in August 2002.

For more than 20 years, the organizations have shared the storied building, which has provided free accommodations to countless men, including thousands of soldiers from both World War I and World War II. 

James Naismith, who invented basketball in 1891 in Springfield, Mass., joined the Denver YMCA staff and personally introduced the game to Denver.

All current YMCA members will be offered transfers to other Y locations within the metro Denver area, and the affected 16 employees will be offered positions at other YMCA branches or associated programs, the group said.

The YMCA will host two “Thank you, Y Community” events to mark the center’s last day of operation on Dec. 30. The first is a breakfast bar from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and later in the day an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Denver Gazette news partner 9News contributed to this story.