These four YMCA sites in York and Chester counties will close for good in 2020
Four area YMCA sites, including the one serving Chester County, will close by the end of the year.
Upper Palmetto YMCA announced sites in Fort Mill, Lake Wylie, York and Chester will close. Some buildings were past their useful age, while others will consolidate services with nearby branch sites.
In a release Tuesday, Upper Palmetto stated the Gold Hill YMCA near Tega Cay will close. Facility upgrades and consolidation with the Baxter Close YMCA at Baxter Village will be the nearest option for members who use Gold Hill.
The Lake Wylie YMCA will consolidate services with the larger, nearby Clover School District YMCA. That site on Crowders Creek is one of the newer and larger facilities in the three-county system.
The Chester County YMCA in Chester and Carolina Crossing YMCA in York also will close. Both buildings are past their useful age, according to Upper Palmetto. The Chester County closure removes the only Upper Palmetto site in that county.
There now are 16 Upper Palmetto sites. There will be 12 by 2021. Upper Palmetto recently opened its largest site in Indian Land, in October. Upper Palmetto is based in Rock Hill. Another major YMCA site in York County, Camp Thunderbird in Lake Wylie, isn’t affiliated with Upper Palmetto. It’s part of YMCA of Greater Charlotte.
“As with any business,” reads a release from Upper Palmetto on Tuesday, “growth brings both positive outcomes and sometimes unforeseen circumstances. The Upper Palmetto YMCA’s board of directors and staff have been intentionally evaluating the 16 branch locations – kind of a report card for the YMCA’s – and recently completed the assessment.
As such, the Upper Palmetto YMCA has made the difficult but necessary decision to close the (four branches).”
