{"id":13349,"date":"2025-06-25T11:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T11:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/13349\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T11:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T11:18:15","slug":"south-dallas-ymca-returns-with-new-building-commemorates-community-history-in-queen-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/13349\/","title":{"rendered":"South Dallas YMCA returns with new building, commemorates community history in Queen City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rodney Watson <\/b>remembers what it was like back in the \u201990s, when his parents worked long hours, and he would visit his grandma across the street from the Park South YMCA in South Dallas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The hub in the Queen City neighborhood is where he would learn to swim, play basketball and make lifelong friends. Watson, now a project manager, helped bring the more than 50-year-old location new life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope this is kind of just a beacon of hope for kids to be able to grow up and to learn and to swim and have a good time,\u201d Watson said. \u201cLook, there\u2019s still life here in South Dallas. There\u2019s still opportunities for young people and people alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RodneyRodney Watson of Westwind Building Corporation speaks to The Dallas Morning News after a ribbon-cutting celebration for the grand reopening at the Park South YMCA on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Breaking News<\/p>\n

Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

The new building held its grand opening Tuesday, with kids, teens and seniors crowding into the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cPark South is not in South Dallas, it is of South Dallas,\u201d said Rodrigua Ross, who previously served as the executive director at the facility for more than a decade. Ross said the YMCA was where community members could go as kids, grow up and then bring their families.<\/p>\n

More than $17 million, raised with the help of individuals, governments, foundations and companies, went toward the new building and a better preschool experience for kids, said Curt Hazelbaker, president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand reopening of the Park South YMCA on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The 38,000-square-foot space comes with the gym and a pool with new equipment. It\u2019s part of the YMCA\u2019s plan to have a larger presence in North Texas. Hazelbaker said it was more than a new building but a \u201csecond home,\u201d where issues like a need for early education, ending loneliness or learning new skills can be addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think that this is a beacon for what to expect,\u201d Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua said. \u201cI think that we\u2019re past hope; we\u2019re at fruition. And Park South Y is essentially a catalyst for a wave of growth and development that is meant to serve the existing community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:Construction begins to transform southern Dallas park space in Cadillac Heights<\/a>\"RodriguaRodrigua Ross, former executive director of the Park South YMCA, speaks during a ribbon-cutting celebration for the grand reopening at the YMCA on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Bazaldua, who represents the South Dallas area, called it a new chapter, part of the momentum building over the past several years. He pointed to the development of the Forest Theater<\/a> and the surrounding area, the redevelopment of the MLK Center and the prospect of a streetcar connecting South Dallas neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Ross said the YMCA originally planned to refresh the building and give it a \u201creally deep rehab,\u201d but it was in such disrepair that \u201cinordinate\u201d amounts of money were spent on upkeep, which could\u2019ve been repurposed for scholarships and other community benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite frankly, if it had been in a different ZIP code, we wouldn\u2019t have considered a rehab,\u201d Ross said, adding that\u2019s when the push started years ago to get a new building. <\/p>\n

\"ParkPark South YMCA is seen, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

When she started asking community members, Ross was met with some skepticism, but she received investment and involvement from donors and community members.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were just a little bit apprehensive because they just really didn\u2019t believe it could happen, because we hadn\u2019t seen it before,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t happening in South Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diane Ragsdale, a former council member and community advocate, said she\u2019s heard concerns from residents that the new facility would serve people outside of the area, such as downtown or from areas east of the neighborhood. She believes it\u2019s key for the facility to prioritize serving people most in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very good day in the life of South Dallas,\u201d Ragsdale said. \u201cIt is important, however, that the new Park South Y, first and foremost, continues to serve people who live within this community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eva Jones, president of the Queen City Neighborhood Association, said she trusts Hazelbaker, the CEO, and others, but it\u2019s essential for open communication to occur between the YMCA and community members to foster trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that I\u2019m dealing with, or have dealt with, in the hierarchy of the YMCA, I have no reason but to believe that they, too, want the best for us all,\u201d Jones said. The neighborhood association meetings started at the YMCA and will continue there now that it\u2019s reopened, she added.<\/p>\n

While Jones credited Ross for her \u201cmajor hand\u201d in getting a new building, she said the story of the Park South location goes back to Vestana Wollos, whom she remembers from her visits to the community center. It\u2019s important to understand the history, she said.<\/p>\n

\"AA portrait of late Vestana Wollos, who donated her land for the erection of the Park South YMCA, is displayed on the stage during a ribbon cutting celebration for the grand re-opening at the YMCA, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Dallas. (Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Wollos, who died about four years ago, helped start the YMCA decades ago by donating the land where the facility sits today, Jones said. She added that Wollos\u2019 vision was for a safe place for youth \u201cto get poured into spiritually, as well as physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Wollos, the grandson of Vestana Wollos, said he hopes the space will offer a community feeling, something his grandmother championed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat way, you can get a family feel anywhere that you go or anytime that you need,\u201d Wollos said.<\/p>\n

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rodney Watson remembers what it was like back in the \u201990s, when his parents worked long hours, and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,14055,50,14053,14054,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-13349","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-future-of-north-texas","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-south-dallas","13":"tag-southern-dallas","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114743733119575392","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}