YMCA of the Foothills submits plans for $7M expansion of Crescenta-Cañada facility, including 2-story parking deck
YMCA of the Foothills has submitted plans to the La Cañada Flintridge Planning Department calling for a two-level parking deck, the demolition of nearly 7,000 square feet of existing structures and 15,000 square feet of new construction at 1930 Foothill Blvd.
The roughly $7 million repurposing and expansion of the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA is part of a long-term strategy to offer members more access to programs and spaces where they can create, be social and connect with one another, President and Chief Executive Tyler Wright said Tuesday.
“We’ve been talking about this since my arrival in 2010, even before then,” he said 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.”
Wright acknowledged the physical limitations of the 55-year-old facility, which he said is visited more than 500,000 times on an annual basis.
“While we are very blessed with the membership we have, it’s created some strains upon us,” he said. “Have you ever tried to park here?”
Site plans for the La Cañada campus, submitted on July 18, indicate the overall square footage of building space would grow from 65,042 square feet to 73,135 square feet. Several classes and locker room areas will be remodeled or repurposed, according to the plan.
The addition of a parking structure on the western end of what is currently the front parking lot would increase the site’s overall number of parking spaces from 195 to 266. A new three-story building on the east end of the campus would house a yoga and mind/body center and creative arts spaces for youths, while a landscaped amphitheater in the center of the campus would provide outdoor seating.
Thom Martin, vice president of youth development for YMCA of the Foothills, recognized a shift in recent years toward helping young people identify activities they really care about and then connecting them with adults who share those interests.
The nonprofit’s acquisition of the former Foothill Athletic Club in La Crescenta in 2016, for the opening of a Crescenta Valley Family YMCA, allowed for the expansion of outdoor adventure programs and the recent proposal for the Crescenta-Cañada site continues that mission, Martin said.
“We’ve been working on trying to find out what the passions of kids are, and we’re really trying to connect them to their passions,” he added. “When we’re talking about a repurposing (at the La Cañada facility) it’s about focusing on those things.”
La Cañada Flintridge Deputy Director of Community Development Susan Koleda said applications for a conditional use permit and variances were initially submitted in May and returned for clarification by the Planning Department. Now, staffers must consider the request for variances in heights and setbacks.
For example, the total height of one structure, from its peak in one area to its sub-basement in another, comes in at just more than 50 feet — well above the city’s standard 35 feet maximum for buildings zoned public/semi-public.
Once the July 18 resubmittal is deemed complete, the city will prepare an environmental document evaluating the project’s potential impact on the surrounding neighborhood, taking into account other projects that coincide with construction, Koleda said. The public will then have 20 days to comment on the report before the matter is considered in a public hearing held by the city’s planning commission.
Wright, who is beginning to make presentations about the project to various community groups, said Y officials hoped to break ground on the new project sometime between summer of 2018 or early 2019.
“I hope when I finish the question people have is, ‘How can I help?’” he said.
Twitter: @SaraCardine
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