Park Cities YMCA

The Park Cites Family YMCA was founded in 1944 and programs began out of a small house in Goar Park. The land for the current facility on Preston Road was donated by the Hoblitzelle Family in the late 1940’s, and the Y opened its doors in 1951 to serve Highland Park and University Park.

Dr. Shirley Hodges, a local resident, was the first Board Chair and he created the sense of community that has grown to where it is today.

Moody Family YMCA

In December, 2014, after 63 years of service, the Park Cities Family YMCA closed its doors on Preston Road and moved to a temporary location in Preston Center. Demolition on the original building began in April of 2015 and thanks to a generous lead gift from the Moody Foundation, construction of the new Moody Family YMCA in the Park Cities began. The Moody Family YMCA opened in September of 2016.

The Moody Family YMCA is a 58,500 square foot facility with a full gymnasium, health & wellness center, group exercise rooms, indoor cycling studio, 25 yard lap pool, instructional pool, locker rooms, Hodges Hall community room, sports fields and an underground parking garage with 300+ parking spaces.

The Moody Family YMCA also welcomed The Rise School as part of the new Y. When a local Dallas family gave birth to twins, on Easter Sunday in 1995, their lives changed dramatically. Their infant son was diagnosed with Down syndrome and since that day, they have been researching what could and should be done for children with developmental disabilities. With enthusiasm and encouragement, this family raised the necessary funds to establish The Rise School in Dallas and a Rise School in Houston, which are modeled after the Rise Program of the Stallings Center at the University of Alabama. The Rise School of Dallas opened April 16, 1998, with one classroom and happily opened the 2016-2017 school year as a part of the Moody Family YMCA with 6 classrooms and 60 kids ages six months to six years.