The fitness room has reached capacity, as has the dance club, Community Services Manager Carolyn Fuentes said. English-learning programs have doubled to four times a week to accommodate growing enrollment, she added.
“We’re kind of bursting at the seams,” Fuentes said.
But one group’s gain will be another’s loss.
All four tennis courts at Central Park will be removed to make room for the new building on Louise Street, angering longtime users of the courts who argue there’s already a shortage of recreational facilities in south Glendale.
“This is such a mismanagement and such a misuse,” said Robert O’Sullivan, an avid tennis player who has used the courts for years.
Players were notified that the courts are scheduled to be shut down April 5, he said. Temporary office trailers have already arrived on-site to accommodate city offices during construction. And funding for the project is waiting in the banks.
Faced with those developments, O’Sullivan acknowledged the futility of any last protest.
“It’s pretty much a done deal; what can we do?” he said. “It’s pretty upsetting.”
Parks officials are finalizing plans to relocate the same number of courts at other facilities.
Still, even some on the City Council — which unanimously approved an additional $2 million in redevelopment money last year to close the project’s funding gap — have bemoaned the loss at Central Park.
“I am unhappy with the layout,” said Councilman Dave Weaver, who had pushed for rooftop tennis courts on the new building. “I’d kill it tomorrow if I could, but the train has left the station.”
Despite the grumbles, the project is poised to move forward Tuesday after several delays in design and funding that have spanned more than a decade.
