In a desire to better serve the community, the YMCA of the Foothills, located at 1930 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada, has submitted expansion plans to the city.

A statement issued by the YMCA of the Foothills states that the facility has served the foothill community for over 60 years. It serves more than 30,000 children, teens, families and seniors each year, providing programs to prevent children from drowning, prevent seniors from falling, fight obesity and pre-diabetes, and avert risky behavior in teens.

Over the past five years, the impact of the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA grew over 70%. With the additional 9,235 families and 1,700 aging adults, the Y’s infrastructure has becomed strained. Many more people who want to attend the Y’s programs are unable to access them. In response, the YMCA of the Foothills has submitted plans to the La Cañada Flintridge Planning Dept. to better serve its aging population and families at the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA at 1930 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada. The project plan would repurpose and improve access to the Y, which is part of a long-term strategy to offer the community more access to programs and community spaces where people can create, be social and connect with one another.

“We’ve been talking about this since my arrival in 2010, even before then,” said CEO Tyler Wright of the strategic plan. “It’s about access, about providing more creative space for kids. It’s really creating a space that’s warm and welcoming for people who visit us.”

The project focuses on four major areas: youth opportunities, family time, wellbeing and accessibility. The Y hopes to develop additional opportunities for kids by increasing program space for those with physical limitations, modernizing and expanding child watch for enriching and educational experiences, and increasing social areas for kids; address family time by expanding ways families can participate in Y activities and enjoy time together, and creating outdoor space for music, youth performances and family picnics; address wellbeing by utilizing a dedicated studio to learn from wellbeing professionals, expanding space for healthy aging programs, yoga and cycling; and improving accessibility by adding zero grade access from a new parking deck, modernizing changing rooms, and adding more on-site parking.

The Y hopes to break ground on the project sometime between summer of 2018 or early 2019.