Glendale Youth Center opens

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Hundreds of community members packed the Armenian Cultural Foundation’s Glendale Youth Center during its grand opening Sunday, an event that was nearly five years in the making.

The 11,000-square-foot, three-story facility brightly sticks out of a mostly residential neighborhood with its blue and yellow facade.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian said the center will give teens the opportunity to embrace their culture and enrich themselves.

“This building is for us to come together as a community to lay the strong foundation for the youth that will form the basis and future of our community,” he said.

The foundation created the quirky facility, which is next to St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church on the 200 block of West Chestnut Street, to give Glendale’s youth a place to learn, socialize, play and be safe, master of ceremonies Manoug Seraydarian said at Sunday’s opening.

“If we believe that the youth is our future, and I believe we do, then we know that future starts here now,” he said.

The foundation named the center in honor of Krikor and Mariam Karamanoukian. The couple’s son, Albert Karamanoukian, donated $250,000 to the foundation to build the center.

Community organizers broke ground in December 2007 on the center, which was funded through private donations and a federal Community Development Block Grant of more than $200,000 awarded by the City Council in April 2007. The whole project was estimated to cost $2.5 million, according to the foundation.

“We believe the youth center will open many doors and help us reach our goal in uniting and creating our beautiful community . . . it will be a place to learn about our heritage,” said Patil Malatian, a Glendale teen.

The facility will provide a safe haven for teens and offer them gang and drug prevention programs, internships, recreational programs and social services.

“Glendale is supposed to have the largest [Armenian] community outside of Armenia,” said Chris Kilenjian, a Glendale teen. “We never had the chance to have our own Armenian youth center. The youth center has always been a dream of ours.”

Teens also can relax in a reading room, which is equipped with reading materials and lounge chairs.

The youth center’s large multipurpose room consists of a gym, library, recreation room, conference room, teen room and four classrooms, according to city staff reports.

Classrooms were created to allow for Armenian language classes, Sunday school and Bible study in conjunction with St. Mary’s church, homework and study sessions.

The facility’s third floor includes several offices for local nonprofit organizations, including the Armenian National Committee; Armenian Youth Federation; Armenian Youth Federation Juniors; the Armenian Relief Society; the Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts and the Hamazkaine Cultural Assn. — all of which will provide services at the center, according to city staff reports.

“It is wonderful,” Glendale resident Archie Bandaryan said. “Young people have nowhere else to hang out . . . so this a place that is positive.”

 VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.