Members of the oldest YMCA club in the world exchanged heartbroken hugs yesterday as it closed its doors for the last time – before becoming a luxury hotel.
The now-international YMCA organisation was founded in 1844 with its UK branch, called Central YMCA – which opened its flagship hub in London in 1911.
This first ever YMCA club held London’s largest gym and provided health and education programmes to the local community.
The huge 116,000 sq ft building on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, near the British Museum, was sold to developers Criterion Capital in December.
The real estate company, owned by billionaire property tycoon Asif Aziz, operates luxury hotels and residential properties across the UK.
In a heartbreaking video from yesterday, a crowd cheered, cried and hugged as they left the building for the last time.
They started chanting, ‘Save our gym’, clapping in time and exchanged long, warm hugs of reassurance, with one woman sobbing and putting her arm around her friend. Another said in shock, ‘I can’t believe this is it, that’s it’.
Others sang the famous Village People song, with its famous opening lyrics given new meaning by the club’s closure: ‘Young man, there’s no need to feel down, I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.’
They were chivvied out the building, with someone apologetically shouting, ‘Everyone needs to be outside, I’m sorry’, and, ‘We need to close the building’.
One man blew a whistle loudly as the crowd was asked to leave.
Two women exchanged a long hug, with one patting the other on the back and reassuring her, ‘You got this’.
With the keys handed in, members suggested a pint down the road to celebrate and commiserate, as they hugged on the street outside the club.
They applauded and whooped as the shutters came down for the final time while others looked on nostalgically at the closed building.
The YMCA club had 3,600 members and saw 10,000 people use it regularly.
The site at 112 Great Russell Street, near Tottenham Court Road, was closed due to the age of the building, plus ‘demographic changes and soaring maintenance costs’ – which ‘are now not being covered by the number of members the club can sustain’.
It follows the failure of a High Court injunction application to keep it open – over shortage of evidence – by member Patrick Joy, who submitted the application because the closure would impact his ‘health and welfare’.
Central YMCA chief Ryan Palmer said: ‘It is with a heavy heart that we close the doors for the final time.
‘We are deeply saddened at the closure of our Great Russell Street site and recognise the loss to the local community.
‘The site has supported positive change for so many individuals over the years.’
In December, he said selling the building would allow the organisation ‘to reinvest in more sustainable, impactful and forward-looking ways’.
Central YMCA will still provide its services at sites in King’s Cross and Moorgate.
Alongside London’s largest gym, the building was home to a 25m swimming pool, a sauna and a steam room.
It served as a shelter during World War Two, after which it was demolished then rebuilt in the seventies.
Criterion Capital, who bought the club, own Zedwell LSQ Ltd – the landlords of London’s Prince Charles Cinema, the cult picturehouse currently under threat of closure.
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in 1844 by 22-year-old draper Sir George Williams as a prayer and bible study group for young men working in cities.
Since then, it has provided fitness spaces, education and support for the homeless in clubs in 120 countries worldwide.
YMCAs across the world are responsible for inventing the sports of basketball and volleyball and establishing the poppy as a symbol of veterans lost in war.
The worldwide charity also gave its name to that famous number one hit by The Village People in 1978.
YMCA members said the loss of the club is a blow to the local community and feared the building will ‘just become another hotel’.
One member described it as ‘one of the biggest injustices to ever happen’ in London.
The huge building is now owned by Asif Aziz, the property tycoon dubbed ‘Mr West End’ due his string of properties in central London including the London Trocadero.
Mr Aziz owns £3.6billion worth of property in London under his company Criterion Capital.
Josh Von Uexkull, 28, set up a petition to stop the closure, which soared in popularity and attracted thousands of signatures.
The artist, from Camden, has been a member at the centre since he was three years old and has worked there as a fitness adviser and lifeguard for 25 years.
He said: ‘I was absolutely devastated. There are heartbreaking stories coming in about how the older members can’t sleep because they have heard the news.
‘I think this will be one of the biggest injustices to ever happen in the city as a whole.
‘The members and staff were not consulted at all. We feel completely helpless.
‘It will be incredibly difficult for some staff because this is the only place they can do their job. This will be absolutely life-changing for them.
‘I work here because of my love for it, I could be paid better elsewhere.’
Despite losing his own job, Josh says his main worry is the more than 3,000 members who will now have nowhere to go.
One member, Garry Brough, 57, from Camden says he first attended the YMCA in 1997 to take part in their Positive Health Programme for people living with HIV.
The NHS worker says the classes were a ‘lifeline’ for him, helping him build up his fitness as he was suffering from lung cancer and pneumonia.
The programme even inspired him to start teaching Pilates classes at the centre, which he has done for the last 20 years.
He said: ‘The YMCA completely transformed my life. I don’t know what I would have done without it.
‘People really depend on the community programmes. It was a lifeline to me.
‘It is not just a gym, it is a hub for people to connect and feel a part of something.’
Mr Brough received an email telling him about the closure, which was devastating for both him and his class.
He added: ‘It has been a huge shock. I couldn’t believe it was closing. It is astonishing that you can give lifelong members two months’ notice.
‘I hope there is something we can do to stop this. It is shocking to think that the idea of community health and wellbeing has been deprioritised to make another hotel.’
The site includes a 25-metre swimming pool, a sauna, steam room, six exercise studios and a cycling studio.
Alice MacDonnell, 35, has been taking her 12-year-old son Toulouse to basketball practice at the YMCA for four years.
The single mother-of-one from Soho says the centre is an integral part of the community, being used by all the local schools as well as older residents.
She said: ‘That place is so important, you get people from every background and every financial bracket.
‘They provide something for the community that nowhere else does in central London. It will be a complete depletion of resources for the community.
‘It is insane. There is definitely an agenda to move families out of central London, and we need to fight back. Children are being designed out of London.
‘It just seems really unfair. Everyone wants to save it, we would all be happy to pay more just to keep it there.’
Leigh Wildman, 62, says he is really disappointed by the news of the closure as he has been swimming weekly at the club for the last four years.
The musician from Soho, who was born round the corner from the YMCA, says he was hoping to use the centre to keep fit in his retirement.
He said: ‘There is a really lovely atmosphere at the YMCA. It is fantastic and very affordable for someone like me – a working Londoner.
‘I can’t believe it. Where are we all going to go? I think it is a terrible shame.
‘This is another disappearing part of London that is going to be swept away so that they can make the city into a theme park for tourists.’
Many more members have been banding together to oppose the closure, even starting the Save the Central YMCA Club.
Central YMCA chief executive Ryan Palmer said: ‘CYMCA has always adapted to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve.
‘Today that means recognising that as a charity, there are ways we can make a far greater impact in the communities we serve.
‘For a number of months, the trustees and senior leadership team at CYMCA have been conducting a strategic review to determine how best to deliver for our beneficiaries in light of the mounting challenges facing the charitable sector.
‘With demographic changes in the city centre; the ageing of the Club building and accessibility and spacing issues; changes to health and wellbeing practices, and soaring site maintenance costs, it has become clear that the cost of operations at the Club are now not being covered by the number of members the Club can sustain.
‘Therefore, after much consideration and with the best interests of the charity and our beneficiaries at heart, we have concluded the sale of the 112 Great Russell Street site.
‘This means that the Central YMCA Club at 112 Great Russell Street will cease trading on 7th February 2025.
‘Our operations, including our education services and programmes across the country, will still continue and we still have CYMCA club sites at Kings Cross and Moorgate.
‘We want to continue to break down barriers to access and education, and to meet the needs of the less privileged and under-represented in ways that will prove most valuable to them.
‘This sale will allow us to reinvest in more sustainable, impactful, and forward-looking ways of broadening our service provision, better serving both existing and new communities.
‘I am sincerely grateful to everyone who has contributed to the Club over the years. Our priority now is our Club members and staff, and we will continue to support them in any way we can.’
Omar Aziz, of Criterion Capital, told Hospitality Investor: ‘This acquisition is a partnership founded on trust and mutual respect.
‘From the beginning, our shared vision with Central YMCA has been to recognise the importance of this historic site, while transforming it into an economically viable and vibrant space that meets the needs of future generations, ensuring it remains relevant and meaningful to contemporary needs.’
