Youth center is ready to break ground

GLENDALE — After waiting for more than three years as the Armenian Cultural Foundation’s planned Community Youth Center worked through the city planning process, a fleet of community organizations and residents backing the project will herald the center’s construction at a ceremonial groundbreaking Sunday.

The three-story, 10,379-square-foot structure planned for 211 W. Chestnut St. — next to St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church — will cater to Glendale youths by providing after-school recreation and educational programs, said Neshan Peroomian, chairman of the foundation’s building committee.

Construction is set to begin in early January and is expected to take about a year to complete, Peroomian said.

When its doors open, the youth center will fill what some say is a void for kids in all of Glendale said Elen Asatryan, executive director of the Armenian National Committee, Glendale chapter, one of four community organizations slated to occupy office space in the center.

“We’ve been a very big supporter of the Glendale youth center considering the fact that it’s not only going to benefit the Armenian community but benefit the public in general and be a great place for the youth to go, especially with the educational classes and cultural awareness programs they plan on offering,” Asatryan said.

The multipurpose facility will consist of a gym, library, recreation room, conference room, teen room and four classrooms, according to a city staff report regarding Community Development Block Grant proposals. And while the foundation plans to maintain a focus on youth at the center, the facility’s rooms will be used interchangeably for senior and family social service programs, according to the report.

Funded by private donations and a federal Community Development Block Grant of more than $200,000 awarded by the City Council in April, the whole project is estimated to cost $2.5 million to $3 million, Peroomian said.

So far, the nonprofit Armenian Cultural Foundation has raised about $1 million, he said.

“We still have a lot of money to raise,” he said, adding that as construction progresses the foundation will continue to solicit donations and possibly seek a bank loan.