Building a better ‘Y’

The East Dallas Family YMCA is located at

The owner of Chilton Investments has pledged a challenge gift of $750,000 to the YMCA "Campaign for the 21st Century." Chilton has issued a $500,000 challenge to build a new East Dallas Family YMCA. A Rockwall resident, Chilton has earmarked the remaining $250,000 for the Rockwall County Family YMCA.

Bob Chilton grew up in East Dallas , attending Lipscomb Elementary, playing in White Rock Creek, learning to swim at the Lakewood Country Club and later, in high school, swimming competitively for the East Dallas YMCA.

A world-class yachtsman, Chilton learned to sail at White Rock Lake before moving on to bigger bodies of water.

Chilton became involved with the East Dallas "Y" relocation campaign when "a couple of friends who were active on the board of the YMCA called on me and gave me a very compelling story on what the ‘Y’ is trying to do in today’s environment. It is so important to have the kind of facility that the whole community revolves around.

"I asked how I could help. They told me about current projects, one of which was the rejuvenation and relocation of the East Dallas YMCA in my old neighborhood.

“It seemed like the most appropriate thing I could do."

The new address of the “Y” has sparked much discussion. One proposal is that the YMCA and the City jointly build the new YMCA, which would be leased by the park department to the YMCA to maintain as a branch YMCA and a City recreation center, at Winstead Park near the White Rock Lake spillway.

Todd Copilevitz, spokesman for the Lakewood homeowners group Save Winstead Park , says neighbors worried about safety and traffic issues at that location. The group has created a website (NEED THE NAME) that outlines these and other problems with the site.

Ben Casey, president of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, says that Save Winstead Park “raises some good issues.” He and other “Y” officials plan to meet with this and other neighborhood groups to discuss the options for a new “Y” location. Winstead Park is not the only site that a YMCA-City partnership could happen, Casey says.

“We want to make certain the ‘Y’ is doing the right thing,” Casey says. “We want the ‘Y’ to belong to the community.

“That’s the only way the ‘Y’ is successful.”

This site would have to be approved by the park board, planning and zoning and the City Council.

Casey says the “Y” should have a site chosen no later than October. A condition of the Chilton donation is that construction on the new branch begin this year.

“We have time yet,” he says. 

For more information on the East Dallas Family YMCA’s "Chilton Challenge," contact executive director Nora Tomlin at 214-824-8139.