Ballantyne backlash against Morrison YMCA sale: Protest set for south Charlotte
The Ballantyne backlash against the $42.5 million sale of the Morrison Family YMCA is growing.
The latest display of public anger involves plans posted on social media for a protest next month at the Morrison Family YMCA in south Charlotte with a poster saying: “Our Community. Our YMCA. Our Decision.”
In a surprise move last week, the YMCA of Greater Charlotte announced it was selling the Morrison complex to Moments of Hope Church, led by pastor David Chadwick. The deal is expected to be completed by next summer, at which point the Morrison YMCA will close.
Following that June 17 announcement, area residents and Morrison YMCA members quickly jumped on social media to voice their disapproval on the Morrison Family YMCA Facebook page, and Instagram. A petition was created the same day on Change.org to “Save the Morrison Family YMCA” that now has over 4,600 signatures.
The online protest post encourages people to bring their families and signs to the Ballantyne YMCA at Bryant Farms Road.at noon July 12. “Morrison YMCA Not for Sale!” the online poster reads. “Our YMCA builds stronger kids, healthier families, and a stronger community.
“It belongs to us. Not a church.”
“Wait, are we having a protest???!!! one person said Thursday on the Facebook post about the protest. “I am sooooo there!”
“Morrison is a pillar that makes Ballantyne as great as it is,” another person said.
Laurie Thames Pace, who shared the protest poster online Thursday, has been director of group exercises for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte since 2017, her bio shows on Facebook.
It’s unclear who is organizing the protest. Pace did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
A YMCA spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment Friday evening.
Another effort to try to stop the Ballantyne YMCA sale
There’s also another project to try to stop the sale of the Morrison YMCA led by JD Hopper, according to the Facebook page he created June 24 called Save Morrison YMCA.
“We’re now getting organized in a serious way,” Hopper said on his personal Facebook page. “A professional organizer has joined our effort, and we’ve begun meeting to discuss next steps, including community outreach, rallies, peaceful protests, and, if necessary, a potential boycott.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to keep this community cornerstone from being sold.”
Hopper did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
More on the Morrison Family YMCA deal in Charlotte
The Morrison YMCA will remain operational until the sale closes. The branch opened 25 years ago and serves about 4,200 households.
The YMCA’s Board of Directors approved the purchase and sale agreement of the Morrison branch as a cornerstone of its multi-year strategic plan, which includes a $100-million investment across its network of centers. Several facilities, some of which have not seen capital improvements in nearly 20 years, are scheduled for upgrades.
Chadwick and other Moments of Hope leaders have “squirreled away” over half of the $42.5 million sale price, he said during a recording of last Sunday’s service from Providence Square Shopping Center in south Charlotte. The church has about a year to raise the rest of the funds, around $20 million.
Forest Hill Church, which has met at the Morrison YMCA for 15 years and had funded the branch’s expansion, will also be displaced when Chadwick’s church takes over the property. Chadwick was a former pastor of Forest Hill. Forest Hill lead pastor Doc Hanberry said the church was “blindsided” by the YMCA’s decision to sell.
Chadwick, who left Forest Hill in 2019 under contentious circumstances, has said the Morrison YMCA deal is not over a personal vendetta.
”We’re not going to spend that kind of money for David to have personal vengeance,” he said during Sunday’s service.
Chadwick then addressed any Ballantyne residents listening to Sunday’s service: “You might want to direct your comments if you’re really angry about this more to the Y than to us, because they’re the ones who sold it to us.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Ballantyne backlash against Morrison YMCA sale: Protest set for south Charlotte."
