YMCA plans downtown Dallas child care center
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The T. Boone Pickens YMCA opened in downtown Dallas in 1982. Photo: YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas
Downtown Dallas is on track to get a new child care center but its opening date depends on YMCA Metropolitan of Dallas fundraising.
Why it matters: Dallas-Fort Worth has the highest child care gap among Texas metros, per a Bipartisan Policy Center analysis that measures the difference between the potential need for child care and the number of available spots.
- About 13,000 Dallas-area children are not within reasonable driving distance to a childcare facility with availability, the analysis says.
State of play: The YMCA is collaborating with the nonprofit ChildCareGroup to open a two-story licensed childcare center at the T. Boone Pickens YMCA on Akard Street.
- The 25,000-square-foot facility will accommodate 304 kids from 6 months old to 6 years old, YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas CEO Curt Hazelbaker tells Axios.
- The ChildCareGroup will care for the children under 2 years old and the YMCA would care for the older ones.
The latest: The child care center will cost somewhere between $3.5 million and $4 million to build, Hazelbaker says. The YMCA has secured $2 million so far from Dallas County and funds from the nonprofit.
The intrigue: Many workers have told their employers they prefer to have child care closer to where they work instead of where they live, Hazelbaker says.
- Dallas County and some businesses nearby may decide to subsidize some of the child care center fees as a perk for their employees.
Flashback: The T. Boone Pickens YMCA opened in 1982 in a downtown building that was once a bank and parking garage.
- The YMCA considered selling the building in 2023 because it was getting costly to repair but decided to take it off the market.
What they did: Dallas County officials approached the YMCA about the idea of opening a child care center in the building to help county employees who work in the area.
- The center would also create a new revenue stream for the larger YMCA facility. "T. Boone Pickens is a very large building that we don't use all of, and so we were intrigued by the idea," Hazelbaker says.
The big picture: Dallas-Fort Worth's booming population has kept the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas busy trying to entice more people to use their YMCA.
- The Waxahachie Family YMCA broke ground this week on the first phase of its $10.7 million expansion that includes a park with a trail, a basketball court, a playground, pickleball courts, outdoor fitness spaces and a shaded pavilion.
- The Park South Family YMCA is scheduled to open in South Dallas next week about a mile from Fair Park.
What's next: The YMCA is accepting donations for the Dallas child care center on the organization's website. Donors should specify their intent.