Moody Family YMCA to Open At Last
Update: According to Associate Director of Member Services with the Moody Family YMCA Brenda Rabe, the opening of the new facility has been pushed back from Sept. 1 to Sept. 19. The Rise School of Dallas is hoping to get approval from the city to open Sept. 12.
The Park Cities YMCA will vacate its interim home in Preston Center and return to its original location near Preston Road and Mockingbird Lane Sept. 19. The address may be familiar, but little else remains the same.
The newly named 58,500 square-foot Moody Family YMCA will open its doors after more than a year and a half of construction. Those who frequented the original building, which was built in 1951, will notice some major differences.
“Construction is never fun … but to get where we are and build the new YMCA, I think it’s going to be well worth it for everybody,” Park Cities YMCA Executive Director Roger Moon said.
New additions to the facility include a full-sized gymnasium, a swimming pool, a teaching and therapy pool, and a 302-spot below-ground parking garage. The first floor of the building will house strength and cardio workout equipment and locker rooms, while the second floor will have community gathering spaces, spaces for workout classes, and administrative offices.
“I’ve never seen a community as invested as the Park Cities,” Moon said. “Multiple generations have come through this YMCA.”
The YMCA will also serve as the new home of the Rise School of Dallas, a nonprofit that provides education services to children both with and without special needs. Students will start classes the same day the facility opens. First floor classrooms will also be used for after-school programs.
“We needed a new facility and the Rise School needed a home of their own,” Moon said. “It looked like a perfect marriage.”
According to Moon and newly appointed executive director for the Moody Family YMCA Willie Lees, the facility will continue all of its fitness and wellness programs, with potential for adjustments based on need. They hope the new complex will create more opportunities for social activities beyond exercise.
For example, in a small room on the second floor with a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a nearby residential area, Lees pictures groups of senior citizens gathering to play cards.
“It’s more than a fitness center and a swimming pool,” Moon said. “That’s the cool thing about the Y — there is no average user. It is for all.”
