President of the Columbus Downtown Development Board and former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman announced the deal between his organization and the YMCA at Monday’s city council meeting.
“It's a big deal because what we know is that the YMCA [building] will be a place for affordable housing in our community, a very important, a very tough building to redevelop. And we'll be working with you to assure that that happens,” said the former Columbus Mayor.
YMCA officials released the following statement, "We have full faith in the CDDC to work with the City, County and development partners to redevelop 40 West Long in a way that serves the greatest needs of the community, “ said Brandi AL-Issa, Chief Advancement & Strategy Officer of the YMCA of Central Ohio.
Currently, over 400 men live at the downtown YMCA. Many are expected to move next year to new apartments in Franklinton built by the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.