City Of Atmore Won’t Accept Ownership Of Former YMCA Property

February 13, 2019

The Atmore City Council has voted to reject ownership of the South Pensacola Avenue property recently occupied by the now defunct Atmore YMCA.

Mayor Jim Staff said it would take an estimated $3.4 million to bring the 93-year old building into good repair.

With a reversion clause in the property deed, Staff said the property would either go to the Atmore Lions Club or the Escambia County (AL) Board of Education.

The building was the location of the first public county high school in Alabama. Plans for the school began in the last 1800’s with the school completed in 1909. That building later burned.

The current 1926 building was acquired from the school board by the Atmore Lions Club in 1989 and later dedicated as the Atmore Lions Community Center in 1991. In 2004, the building was donated to the Atmore Area YMCA.

As we previously reported, the YMCA closed in late November 2018.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “City Of Atmore Won’t Accept Ownership Of Former YMCA Property”

  1. Cheryl Hicks on February 13th, 2019 1:14 pm

    This is a shame, Mayor Jim Staff you have been here to Thomasville AL and seen what can be done with an old school building. The citizens of Thomasville and surrounding area helped save our High School and now it is a beautiful CIVIC CENTER with rentable rooms for functions and a Theatre to beat most, City Hall is here along with the Police Department, Court Department and soon the Water Department.
    You all are talking about restoring the Historical Downtown area and not a 1909 beautiful school building, a Historical Building at that.
    Y’all come look anytime! 334-636-5827

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News