Community Impact: YMCA of Austin will move offices to ACC’s Highland Campus

By Jack Flagler 

The former Dillard’s store in the Highland Mall will soon become an Austin Community College building that will house public television station KLRU, ACC’s television studios and offices and the community college’s administrative offices.

When that building on the Highland campus, which ACC calls “Building 3000,” opens in late 2020, the YMCA of Austin will move into the Highland Business Center, taking over the area where ACC staff currently has offices.

The ACC board of trustees approved a lease agreement on Sept. 9 with the YMCA of Austin to lease 10,000 of space on the fifth floor of the Highland Business Center for an initial period of ten years with an option to renew for another ten years.

The YMCA of Austin, according to its website, currently has administrative offices at 3208 Red River St. YMCA of Austin CEO James Finck told the board of trustees on Sept. 9 that the new location will give YMCA oof Austin an “opportunity to evangelize the work we do in the academic environment.”

YMCA of Austin operates a drop-in childcare program for students at ACC Highland at a cost of $4 per hour per child ages 1-12 for a maximum of three hours per day.

On Sept. 9, YMCA of Austin announced a merger with Extend-A-Care for Kids, an organization that provides afterschool and summer programs in the local area. According to the release, the merger is expected to be finalized in January 2020.