The former South Shore YMCA in Cudahy is back on the market after plans for an evangelical Christian church to purchase the property have been terminated.
CBRE listed the 53,477-square-foot building at 3244 E. College Ave., 10 days ago for $2.75 million.
In August, the Cudahy plan commission approved plans that would have allowed Grace Hmong Alliance Church, to purchase the 12.7-acre property and begin worshiping in the former workout facility’s gymnasium.
Because of the church’s plans to purchase, the Cudahy Common Council rejected a proposal to rezone the property for business use. Grace Hmong worships in rented space at 4601 N. 84th St. in Milwaukee.
Calls to the church were unanswered, as the phone is out of service.
“Once the church’s plans were approved in August, we never heard another word from them,” said Cudahy Mayor John Hohenfeldt. “It wasn’t until I finally heard back from an attorney this week, that I found out the deal was dead.”
In June 2014, the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee began implementing a restructuring plan designed to address its operating challenges, repay as much debt as possible and reposition the Milwaukee Y for the future. That plan called for the organization to establish a Milwaukee Y comprised of centers within (or very close to) the City of Milwaukee and sell off the majority of its owned real estate assets, including the South Shore Y, in order to pay down debt.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee closed South Shore YMCA on Jan. 31.
Hohenfeldt said he would like to see the Cudahy property used for commercial business, or possibly a mixed-use development.
“It was built as a YMCA and it was great to our community,” he said. “Because of bankruptcy, that is no longer what it is going to be. I would like to see it repurposed so more business can be in our community.”
