The Germantown Y once offered a space for women to connect, play, learn, gather together, and watching this community, these women, continuously work to save it shows how rare and treasured it was – is. Since the early 2000s, this building has slowly fallen into disrepair, even since a developer, Keith B. Key Enterprises based in Ohio won control in 2016. This story is one of a community fighting to preserve cultural memory and connection, and to ensure their community prospers. It is one of women, primarily elderly, refusing to be silenced, demanding to be heard. Yvonne Haskins, at a PRA meeting in 2021, spoke to the board members, eloquently encapsulating the preservation issues: “I am looking into your eyes and hoping that I am reaching your heart” (Haskins, 2025).

If this fight to save the Germantown Y conveys anything, it is that preservation is not possible without emotion as an expression of the profound relationships to neighborhood and the building. While the motivations and connection to this building might be unique for everyone, it is the emotional stake in the space, the neighborhood that provides the strength to keep pushing, after so long. For some, it’s the memories of this space, of what it meant to them, to their children, to their mothers. Others see the impact that revitalizing a (blighted) prominent building could have on uplifting this community. Even others are focused on the accessibility that this building and its parking lot offers. Nostalgia, fear, pride, love: all play a role, and all will determine the future of the Germantown Y.

On February 12, 2025, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA) held a public meeting which was attended by several members of the Friends for the Restoration of the Germantown YWCA Building. The presence of the attendees, despite the accessibility barriers they had to overcome, spoke volumes. The majority of the women were elderly, some disabled, which made attending this meeting particularly difficult. One woman called out the PRA for removing zoom options, explaining that the route to attend required transfers to three different buses to attend this meeting, which she was not comfortable doing.

Attendees of the PRA meeting spoke lengthily about the repeated disappointments they had faced over the course of their pursuit, not to mention the number of their members of Friends of Germantown Y that have passed away since its inception in 2021. They felt that the continued delays and excuses demonstrated a lack of interest, not only in the building, but their voices. Some speakers teared up as they expressed how long they had been waiting for something to be done, waiting for anyone to care half as much as they did.

Cultural memory isn’t the only thing at play here. This building reaches far beyond the grassroots activist group, or even those who once used it. On October 12, 2023, the former developer, Keith B. Key Enterprises (KBK), held an open community meeting at Center in the Park. When the meeting turned the microphones over to those gathered, the thoughts, feelings, and hopes of the neighborhood became abundantly clear.

Most speakers expressed concern over KBK’s plan for the parking lot, which would have blocked the accessible entrance to the Center in the Park, a community center for seniors, thus vastly limiting use of the building. Furthermore, the plan would have made it impossible for vans carrying seniors to the space to turn around, and it would have forced those driving to park at a lot farther away. These needs had already been expressed to KBK by Center in the Park leadership, and yet the designs were shown anyways. The lack of respect for their needs did not sit well with many in the audience, as there were audible negative reactions throughout the course of the meeting and claps of support for those who pushed KBK on the lot.

KBK is no longer the developer for this building, as clarified by the PRA on February 12, 2025. However, this meeting is essential to understanding the breadth of emotions and connections to this building. These affective expressions compose the foundation for community investment and development. They demonstrate the strength of the aging populations and their stake in neighborhood. For those who feel no ties to what the Y once was, the future of this building has the potential to either support the Germantown elderly community, or seriously harm an already vulnerable, often overlooked population.

Stakeholders

These emotions make one thing very clear: that many people care about the future of this building. The question now is: will their concerns be heard? The future of this building will be determined by who gets a say, by whose emotions are considered. As discussed in the blog on “Politics of Preservation”, Act 135, had it been approved by the Judge, would have granted Ken Weinstein full control of the building. He would have become the sole stakeholder in the Germantown Y. His plans and mission aligned with many of those focused on the building, so many were on board with this plan. However, the controversy with Act 135 in the past is that it has eliminated all other voices.

In the past, issues have arisen surrounding the preservation of this building when people feel their emotions aren’t being considered. How do we come up with a way that gives value to these voices, and evaluates and assess what would be best for the future? This is the question that must be answered as the future of the Germantown Y is determined.

Works Cited

Ajamu, R. (2025, February 13). PRA Chair weighs in on KBK’s future with the YWCA: “I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Resolve Philly. https://resolvephilly.org/gih/pra-germantown-ywca-2025/

Germantown YWCA - Kbkenterprises. (2023). Keith B. Key Enterprises. https://www.kbkenterprises.net/germantown-ywca

Haskins, Yvonne. Personal Interview. (2025, March 5).

Fearing Demolition, Community Advocates Of Germantown YWCA Call For Emergency Meeting. (2015, January 21). Hidden City Philadelphia. https://hiddencityphila.org/2015/01/fearing-demolition-community-advocates-of-germantown-ywca-call-for-emergency-meeting/