Alumna-led YMCA building renovation almost complete

The renovation of Texas A&M’s historic YMCA building, overseen by Nancy McCoy ’81, FAIA, an outstanding alumna of the College of Architecture, is mostly complete.

McCoy, a founding principal at Quimby McCoy Preservation Architecture , LLP, is an award-winning preservation architect with more than 20 years of national experience.

The four-story structure, designed to be certified as LEED Silver, will house the Department of Philosophy, the faculty senate, Aggie Honor System offices, and the Division of Marketing and Communications; some of the building’s new tenants have already begun to move into their new digs.

A rededication, hosted by the Division of Marketing and Communications, has tentatively been set for Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m.

Dedicated in 1915, the building was designed by Frederick Gieseke , who founded Texas A&M’s architecture program in 1905, and S. J. Fountain, who succeeded Giesecke as the program’s head in 1912.

The renovation is the latest in a long line of award-winning projects McCoy has led over the years.

At Fair Park in Dallas, she led 30 conservation projects over a 15-year period, including the expansion of the Cotton Bowl, the Martin Luther King and Grand Avenue Entrance gates, the restoration of the Parry Avenue entrance gate and the Esplanade Fountain, the intricate conservation of historic murals and the restoration of several buildings.

The work, among her numerous other conservation projects across the nation, was recognized with 16 preservation design project awards, including the 2004 National Trust Honor Award.