The YMCA of Columbia-Willamette is closing its Beaverton Family gym, after the site’s property owner dropped a $1.5 million lawsuit and reached a settlement with the nonprofit. The Beaverton Family site at 4925 S.W. Griffith Drive will close July 29, according to a statement from Bruce Patton, the nonprofit’s vice president.
Starting Aug. 1, gym membership, group exercise programs and older adult programs will be transferred to the Beaverton Hoop YMCA at 9685 S.W. Harvest Court, according to a memo sent out to gym members, volunteers and staff.
The announcement comes nearly a year after Tami Pardee, co-owner of the property with her husband Michael Pardee, filed a lawsuit claiming that the nonprofit broke its lease agreement. In the lawsuit, Tami Pardee alleged that the nonprofit tried to persuade Beaverton Family members to join the Hoop location – when, according to the agreement, it was supposed to return club membership to Pardee once the 10-year lease expired in 2013 – and failed to repair or replace equipment. Pardee and the YMCA reached a settlement after Pardee identified a buyer for the property, which has an assessed value of $3,249,830, according to Washington County assessment and taxation records. The price of the sale – which the memo says is “imminent” – and the name of the buyer are unknown. “We made a reasonable settlement regarding both the balance of the lease obligation and the facility maintenance,” Patton said in a statement. Patton would not disclose the remaining balance to be paid or how much maintenance would cost the nonprofit, only that the nonprofit’s financial obligations to Pardee end Aug. 31, 2011. The new owner plans to remodel the building and reopen fall 2012, Patton said. When the Beaverton Family gym reduced hours and cut services last fall, some members dropped their affiliation and a high school racquetball team scrambled to find a gym for practice.
Besides the Beaverton clubs, the YMCA also manages fitness centers, camps and youth sports in Portland, Vancouver, Gresham and Sherwood. Pardee, who lives in California, bought the health club from her father, who opened it in 1978. Calls were left with Pardee and her attorney for comment.
— Dominique Fong
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