By Charly SHELTON

The Crescenta-Cañada YMCA is a staple in the community. Over the last few years, it has seen unprecedented growth with no time for the facilities to catch up to the growing demand. Now a project is in the works to modernize the Y facilities to meet its customers’ needs.

“All the changes that we are proposing revolve around access. We’ve experienced tremendous growth over the last five years, at a rate of 71%, which has created strain on our older facilities. This has created some strain on classroom sizes and activities,” said Tyler Wright, president and CEO of the YMCA of the Foothills. “And, just as important, our parking lot is absolutely full. People have a hard time getting into us and, when they do get in, they have a hard time getting around us. When they get around us, they have a hard time getting to what they came here for.

“Our plan is a $7 million project to build a parking deck at the front of the YMCA that will create 70 more parking spaces, and also provide even-level entry into the Y. This will add an additional 5,000 square feet to this particular facility by tearing down some old buildings and adding some newer and modern facilities.”

Wright added that they also want to remodel some of the older areas, like the locker rooms and the middle courtyard area.

This project is no small undertaking and, though plans are still being worked out and the project has yet to be approved by the City of La Cañada Flintridge, Wright is hopeful that it won’t require a full shutdown of the facilities. The project is still in the early planning phases and Wright and his team have already been working on it for a while. They will continue refining the ideas through the end of the project, over a year from now.

“We started raising money about a year ago and we’ve not received city approval yet, although our application has been completed. At this point we’re tentatively scheduled to meet with the Planning Commission at the end of August. Our proposed timeline right now for Phase 1, which would be the parking lot and some interior remodels, is about six to eight months,” Wright said. “And in Phase 2, which includes tearing down some of the old facilities, it can take anywhere from eight to 12 months. Those are all still up in the air; nothing is concrete.”

While Wright is hoping to avoid a complete shutdown of the Crescenta-Cañada facility, construction will impact availability on an as-needed basis. When that occurs, some of the more popular classes will be moved from the Crescenta-Cañada location to the Verdugo Hills YMCA on Foothill Boulevard in Tujunga or the Crescenta Valley YMCA at the bottom of Lowell Avenue, the site of the former Foothill Athletic Club.

Regardless of construction, members of the YMCA of the Foothills have access to all three locations as part of their blanket membership.

The Crescenta-Cañada Y will also be closed from Aug. 11-19 for its annual facility shutdown to bring in new equipment and to do some minor repairs, but that is part of an annual upkeep schedule that is not connected to the $7 million project.

“I’m very appreciative of the city staff and certain elected officials that have been very supportive of our project and I’m looking forward to meeting with the Planning Commission. All of this [$7 million project] is subject to their approval, so I don’t want it to look like we are presuming that it’s a go. But we’re looking forward to having our project reviewed by the Planning Commission and hearing their recommendations,” Wright said. “If all goes well, we will be breaking ground in 2019.”

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  Charly Shelton