North Valley YMCA to Open $9.2-Million Facility

Jane Stanton looked like a commander-in-chief surveying the troops Thursday as she walked through the new $9.2-million North Valley YMCA on Corbin Avenue.

As executive director, Stanton wanted to be sure everything was in place for the grand opening ceremony and the facility’s first day of business that was to begin at 5 this morning. The opening marks the culmination of nearly a decade of planning and fund-raising that transformed an artist’s rendering into a 34,000-square-foot facility.

The new YMCA replaces the former site in Mission Hills, which will be used for a day-care center, Stanton said.

“Our main emphasis is to encourage families to have healthy lifestyles,” Stanton said. “We have expanded our programs to make them available to all of the people we serve.”

About 200 community volunteers collected $7.4 million in corporate and individual donations to help pay for the facility, Stanton said. They will continue the capital campaign to raise the remaining $1.8 million.

The Porter Ranch Development Co., which is building single-family homes and a shopping center nearby, donated the 3.3-acre lot through a deal brokered by Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, the area’s longtime representative.

“If the land had not been donated, the project would never have gotten started,” Stanton said. “We have been blessed to have so many businesses and volunteers to help us.”

The state-of-the-art facility includes two exercise rooms with treadmills, stationary bicycles, stair climbers, weights and other equipment. To help pass the time, members can plug their headphones into jacks attached to the workout machines and listen to one of four televisions mounted on a wall.

There is also a 75-foot-long swimming pool, classrooms, meeting rooms, a child-care center, four locker rooms and administrative offices.

Future plans call for a gymnasium with a volleyball/basketball court, children’s climbing wall and a tiny-tot gym, Stanton said. A preschool for 72 children, a shallow teaching pool and two outdoor sandlot volleyball courts will also be added.