YMCA asks Polk County to delay payments on $6.4M loan again
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Wellmark YMCA in downtown Des Moines includes an Olympic-size pool and a triathlon training facility. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios
The YMCA of Greater Des Moines is seeking another year without payments on its $6.4 million Polk County loan, with the possibility of two additional annual extensions.
Why it matters: Polk County taxpayers could wait years longer for repayment while the YMCA spends elsewhere and its downtown redevelopment remains unresolved.
Driving the news: Polk County supervisors will consider on Tuesday whether to postpone the YMCA's first payment from Nov. 1 to at least Dec. 1, 2027.
- Once repayment begins, the YMCA would initially pay about $32,882 a month.
Catch up quick: Polk County approved the low-interest bridge loan in 2022 to help stabilize the YMCA after years of debt, operating losses and pandemic disruptions.
- Supervisors granted a two-year payment pause in 2023 and later added another year.
- The loan has a 2% interest rate through mid-2033.
Zoom in: The earlier deferment was intended, in part, to give the YMCA more time to secure a sale or redevelopment agreement for the 146,000-square-foot Wellmark YMCA at 501 Grand Ave.
- A prior deal to convert part of the building into affordable housing collapsed in 2021.
Flashback: Supervisor Matt McCoy, now chairperson of the board, cast the sole vote against both the original loan and its 2023 extension.
- He called the arrangement risky for taxpayers and suggested the YMCA consider bankruptcy reorganization.
Yes, but: McCoy told Axios Monday that he will support another one-year deferral.
- The YMCA did not return Axios' requests for comment Monday.
State of play: The Wellmark YMCA remains open.
- The group has not publicly announced a new buyer or a redevelopment agreement for the downtown site.
The intrigue: It is spending $3 million to renovate its Walnut Creek facility in West Des Moines, with construction expected to end later this year.
By the numbers: The YMCA's finances improved in its latest tax filing, but expenses still exceeded revenue by about $303,000 for the year ending in August 2025.
- That was down from about $792,000 the previous year.
What's next: If approved, the revised loan would still require the YMCA to pay off the remaining balance or establish a new payment schedule by July 2031, with the debt due in full by July 2042.