Behind the Ballantyne Y sale to a church: A Charlotte developer with ties to both
In the end, the surprise, $42.5-million sale of the Morrison Family YMCA in Ballantyne to a Charlotte church was aided by a simple fact about real estate — it’s who you know that counts.
And in this case, both the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and the Moments of Hope Church had a key person in common: Graeme “Greg” Keith Jr., the co-founder and CEO of prominent Charlotte development company The Keith Corp.
His family also has their own YMCA branch named for them, the Keith Family YMCA off Old Mallard Creek Road in University City. After the deal closes by next summer, the Morrison Family YMCA will shut down and members will disperse to nearby YMCA branches. The church will have a new home where it can expand.
Keith also co-founded the nondenominational evangelical church and is vice chairman of its elder board. He’s been friends for about 45 years with pastor, David Chadwick. Keith played a key role in identifying the Morrison property as a permanent home for the church after looking at 200 properties over the last seven years.
“It’s really special to see how God provides,” Keith said in a video with Chadwick the church posted Wednesday on its social media. “He does it in His time and His way, which is very seldom our time and our way.”
But not everyone is happy with the sale. Many people around south Charlotte voiced anger and disappointment about the pending closure of the Morrison branch.
“The sudden sale of such a pillar of our community, with no warning or meaningful discussion with the people the YMCA is supposed to serve, is deeply disappointing,” Morrison Y member Jason Forrester told The Charlotte Observer in an email.
And someone started an online petition to stop it. By Thursday evening, it had over 2,550 signatures.
Responding to criticism over the Morrison Family YMCA sale
Chadwick knows a number of community members are upset about the loss of the facility, but he emphasized that the decision to sell is on YMCA leadership.
“At the end of the day, right now, most of the criticism in the Ballantyne community is directed toward the Y, not us,” Chadwick said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer.
“We understand that people don’t like change,” he added. “And we get the fact that there’s a sense of loss and grieving. And I hope again that we’ll be good neighbors, and they’ll still be able to come on the property and use it in different ways.”
YMCA leaders declined to comment Thursday for this story.
Chadwick, a prominent Christain author and former UNC Chapel Hill basketball player, co-founded Moments of Hope in 2019 after leaving Forest Hill Church. Members from his former church followed him.
Since first meeting at a local middle school gym, Moments of Hope has grown to about 1,200 members. The majority of the congregation lives in south or southeast Charlotte, which makes the YMCA location the perfect location, Chadwick said.
He declined to provide detailed financial information about the deal, but said the church has obtained a portion of the funds through tithing and other efforts. The remaining money will be raised over the coming year from inside and outside the church.
The church also saved a “good bit of money” over the past few years, according to the pastor. “We raise money just like every church does,” Chadwick said. “We have our congregation who gives, and our congregation is very generous.”
Moments of Hope Church will not move into the Ballantyne building until next year. During the transition period, all YMCA programs will continue while the church fundraises and plans remodeling.
The church currently leases spaces at Providence Square Shopping Center at 709-A International Drive, about 9 miles northeast of the Morrison YMCA.
YMCA officials called the deal an unsolicited but “compelling” opportunity to accelerate a regional, $100-million reinvestment plan. But the deal fueled frustration among local Y members, who questioned the transparency of the process.
Echoing a number of online comments, Forrester asked why the church was buying the property at all. “I guess I missed that part in my Bible where Jesus told the church to amass treasures on earth to root out a thriving community center dedicated to serving all.”
One cold call to Charlotte Y led to year-long negotiation
For church leadership, the 22-acre YMCA site — with its indoor pool and retractable dome, outdoor waterpark, gym and sports fields— was the answer to years of prayer.
The purchase and sale agreement signed by the YMCA and the church on Tuesday afternoon was more than a year in the making, Keith told The Observer on Thursday.
“It was not something that happened very quickly at all,” he said.
Keith said his role in the deal involved helping his church secure a permanent home for the congregation and Oaks Christian School, which was led by his daughter Dowd Simpson. It was Simpson who first suggested asking the YMCA if it had any facilities it might consider selling.
A cold call by Keith kicked off the process.
Describing the negotiation path, Keith emphasized the diligence of the YMCA’s leadership. “They have a really strong board, and they went back and forth, and we went back and forth. I would say it was a very strategic decision by the Y. It was not a quick decision at all. And it was a strategic decision by us.
“Ultimately, they made the decision they would like to sell it.”
Keith pushed back against perceptions that the deal was somehow fast-tracked or an “inside deal.” While he served on YMCA boards 15 to 20 years ago, he said he was not involved in the YMCA’s decision-making process for this sale.
Chadwick told the Observer that Keith’s relationship with the YMCA opened the door for negotiations that might not have otherwise happened. But he emphasized the transaction was an independent business decision between the church and leadership of the YMCA Charlotte board.
Keith characterized the transaction as an “arm’s-length” deal, noting the YMCA board acted independently throughout the year. “You just had two really good, fine Christian organizations come together, and hopefully this decision is going to be beneficial to a lot of people,” he said.
.png "image (91).png")
About the Keith family, Keith Corp. and the YMCA
The Keiths have longstanding ties with the YMCA. The late Graeme Keith Sr. held YMCA of Greater Charlotte board positions for over 30 years and served as a trustee since 1998. Greg also held leadership roles in the organization.
The Keith Family YMCA was named in honor of the family in 2017 to recognize three decades of volunteer and philanthropic support, including securing land for the branch.
Keith Corp., which has over 140 employees and includes Keith’s sons Cody and Graeme Keith III, prides itself on being faith-based to guide its business dealings.
Keith founded the development company with his late father Graeme Keith Sr., who counted Charlotte-born evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham among his friends.
The Keith Corp. is a full-service commercial real estate firm in Charlotte, specializing in the development of office, retail, industrial, and healthcare projects. The Keiths also developed the 60-acre Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Billy Graham Library campus in Charlotte. Graham and his wife Ruth are buried there.
Other notable projects include The Thread in Rock Hill, a 400,000-square-foot adaptive-reuse project, Kings Mountain Corporate Center in Gaston County, a 1.25-million-square-foot speculative industrial facility, and the 970,000-square-foot Truist Center in uptown Charlotte.
The company also developed the $22 million corporate headquarters for Movement Mortgage in Fort Mill, a Christian-based lending firm.
Keith acknowledged the concerns of YMCA members regarding the loss of their local facility. “I can understand, and I can empathize with them,” he said. However, he added, “in all fairness, the Y’s got pretty good coverage all over the city.”
That includes four nearby YMCA facilities — Brace, Harris, Hemby Activity Center and Sara’s — all 3 to 9 miles away.
Morrison YMCA sale a catalyst for strategic plan
For the YMCA, the sale provides a significant influx of capital to support a 2025-28 strategic plan.
The association, which saw revenue decline from $92 million in 2023 to $74.1 million in 2024, has been seeking ways to modernize aging facilities across the Charlotte region.
Proceeds from the sale are earmarked for major planned upgrades at the Johnston YMCA in NoDa, the Stratford Richardson YMCA, the Harris YMCA, and the Hemby Program Center. Nearby Sara’s YMCA in Ballantyne also could be expanded, YMCA CEO Sue Glass told the Observer.
It’s not the only YMCA property sale. In September, the YMCA announced it was selling 4 acres on its Lowe’s YMCA campus in Mooresville to Josh’s Farmers Market.
What’s next for the Morrison YMCA sale
Morrison Family YMCA will remain operational for the next year, when it’s expected to close in summer 2027.
The church will begin working with architects and engineers to plan the transition of the site for its own ministries, including youth sports and educational outreach.
Chadwick promised to share more information in the coming weeks as they prepare for the transition.
“We knew we needed to find something in that particular swath, and man, it’s expensive,” the pastor said in the video. “I can tell you that after all of these years, it’s just really expensive. But God has provided us something.”
