YMCA’s Stoney Point location being sold to Antioch Christian Church

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Stoney Point YMCA location soon will belong to Antioch Christian Church of Marion.

The YMCA of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Area announced the sale of the property, 300 Stoney Point Rd. SW, Cedar Rapids, to the church on Friday.

The location has been up for sale since October and has never had a membership base to sustain a positive bottom line, YMCA CEO and President Bob Carlson previously told The Gazette.

In his announcement on the YMCA's website Friday, Carlson said the sale has been 'an extremely difficult decision.”

'We have had to make many difficult decisions within the last year as we work to recover and reallocate resources within our association to continue to serve the needs of our community,” Carlson said.

According to the website, Antioch is buying the property to further expand its congregation. The church has a Marion location off Highway 151 as well as a location in Oelwein.

YMCA Marketing Director Shannon Brendengen told The Gazette on Monday the YMCA is working with Antioch on a joint news release with additional details to be shared this week.

Antioch's executive pastor was not available for comment Monday, but the church referred to the coming joint news release in regard to its plan for the property.

'We are happy to know that another nonprofit organization will be entering this side of Cedar Rapids and will continue to serve individuals and families,” Carlson said on the website's post.

Additionally, the sale of the building does not result in an immediate change in the availability to members and child care participants, the Y's website said.

Instead, throughout the next 'several months,” changes to building access will be announced as the YMCA slowly closes down operations at the location.

The YMCA, which just opened a new Marion location in January, has struggled to refund fees for last year's canceled Camp Wapsie. 2020 marked the first year the YMCA's summer program was canceled since the camp, located near Coggon, opened over 100 years ago.

In July, the Mercy Health Plaza YMCA location on Council Street NE closed to free up resources for other branches better sustained by membership fees.

The YMCA of Cedar Rapids isn't alone in financial hardship caused by the pandemic.

The Greater Des Moines YMCA is looking to sell three of its branches to investors and lease them back, using the sale revenues to retire debt, according to the Des Moines Register. The move comes as the organization faces a revenue loss of over $6 million.

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