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RALEIGH — N.C. A&T would buy the Hayes-Taylor Memorial YMCA as part of a plan to expand its engineering school under a deal that top state officials are expected to approve Tuesday.

As outlined in a document prepared for the Council of State — a 10-member panel that includes the governor — the university will eventually use the property to build a 25,000-square-foot classroom building.

“We’re still going through the approval process,” Robert Pompey, A&T vice chancellor for business, said Friday. “Assuming we get all the approvals, we are in a position to move forward.”

Money for the $4 million purchase will come from a U.S. Department of Education grant.

Larry Burnett, executive director of Hayes-Taylor, referred questions about the project to the YMCA of Greensboro’s central office.

“We’re very excited about the possibilities,” said Nancy Calkins, YMCA of Greensboro’s vice president for development.

According to the details given to the Council of State, the YMCA will remain in its location for up to two years while a new YMCA building is under construction. During that time, A&T will use the YMCA property for “educational opportunities,” said Pompey, but no construction will take place until the YMCA moves.

Calkins confirmed the lease-back arrangement but declined to say where the new Hayes-Taylor YMCA might be built.
“It’s too premature to talk about any of the details,” she said. “We’re hoping to be able to do that in the next couple of weeks.”

The university has been eying the YMCA property since at least 2007. At that time, an executive with the YMCA said Hayes-Taylor hoped to move to a 15-acre property at Lee and Florida streets next to Barber Park.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark. binker@news-record.com