Work Starting on Pacoima Youth Club

Construction begins this week on the $1.7-million Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando Valley on a three-acre site on Glenoaks Boulevard near Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima.

Designed by William M. Bray, AIA & Associates, Encino, the facility is the first new Boys Club of America facility ever to be built in the San Fernando Valley, according to LeRoy Chase, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando Valley. The club’s existing facilities are at 13421 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima.

The general contractor is McLaughlin Construction of Lancaster, and completion is scheduled by this fall. The 26,000-square-foot, energy efficient multipurpose building is expected to serve the social and recreational activities of about 2,500 boys- and girls-club members between the ages of 7 and 17, Chase said.

Bray’s design includes 43 skylights to bathe the facility in adequate natural light and reduce energy costs. In addition, all window glass will be tinted bronze to assure further energy savings.

A gymnasium/basketball court will feature free-floating maple flooring. The club facility includes an all-purpose meeting room with a theater and a projection booth. Other rooms will house activities ranging from exercise to computers to crafts. Outdoor recreational facilities include a lighted athletic field and handball courts.

The exterior of the contemporary Spanish-style building is white stucco accented by a blue tile roof.