Members Get Sneak Peek at New YMCA

During a sneak preview Friday of the new facilities at the West Valley YMCA, most members looked as if they couldn’t believe they had the right address.

“I remember taking aerobics when there were holes in the floor,” said 25-year member Maxine Stern with a bemused smile.

“Yes, there literally were potholes,” recalled Charmaine Gudgeon, wellness director at the Y. When teaching classes, “I used to be like, ‘Watch out for that hole over there!’ ”

The new building on Vanowen Street, constructed on the site of an early-1960s structure that was destroyed by the Northridge earthquake, will officially open to members Monday. A dedication attended by city officials is scheduled for April 24.

Rebuilding plans took form during a bleak period just after the 1994 quake, which shattered the old YMCA building’s windows and caused its ceiling to almost completely cave in. Trainers then were meeting members for workouts in trailers, and everyone had to park on a different debris-filled lot every week.

Finally, an insurance settlement of nearly $2 million and a capital campaign netting about $250,000 allowed Y officials to completely rebuild and equip the new place with the latest treadmills, stationary bicycles, weight machines and a computer-guided workout system for beginning exercisers.

Surrounding the gym and pool are a basketball court and roller-hockey rink.

Gudgeon spent most of Friday showing visitors and members around the facility, which smelled of new rubber and had some pieces of equipment still sheathed in plastic.

Several longtime members stopped to exchange disbelieving words.

“It’s pretty amazing that people have stuck with us,” she said.

“They could have gone anywhere else all that time when we were out in those trailers.”