Building a Place to Nourish Families’ Minds, Bodies and Spirits

WEST HILLS â€”  Elderly women tap a staccato cadence in a dance studio. Older men pump iron in a fitness room next door. Preschoolers romp on a grassy playground.

For more than a decade, the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus on Vanowen Street has provided recreational, social and cultural programs for young children and elderly West Valley residents.

But the Jewish Federation / Valley Alliance and West Valley Jewish Community Center, which together run the campus at 22622 Vanowen St., hope to do more for a demographic they believe is underserved.

“There is a significant need in the community to provide recreational and social facilities for teens and young families,� said H. Jack Mayer, executive director of The Jewish Federation/Valley Alliance.

To show its commitment to teens, twentysomethings and young families, the organization will break ground Sunday on a new $4.5-million sports and youth complex at the campus.

At the afternoon ceremony, which will run from 1 to 5 p.m., the community can get its first glimpse of a three-dimensional model of the proposed facility by WLC Architects of Rancho Cucamonga.

“The state-of-the-art sports and youth complex fulfills a decade-long dream to offer the community’s youth, young adults and families a safe place to nourish mind, body and spirit,� Mayer said.

Plans call for a 22,000-square-foot facility of contemporary design with large windows to infuse the space with natural light, he said.

There will also be a 12,000-square-foot gymnasium for basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and karate programs. Retractable bleachers will provide seating for 500.

“This facility is something that will attract a whole new audience,� said Marty Rosenthal, who co-chairs the complex building committee. “It will provide a significant service that has been missing in the West Valley over the years.�

Funding for the $4.5-million project is coming from corporate and private donations, Mayer said. So far, $3.8 million has been donated and it is expected that the remaining $700,000 expected will be raised before the building’s scheduled opening next summer.

When finished, the sports and youth complex will be open to the public, Mayer said. Nonmembers of the West Valley Jewish Community Center may have to pay a nominal fee for use of some facilities, he said, however most activities will be free.

The complex will be the latest addition to the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus, which also includes an art gallery, library, preschool, fitness room, weight room, classrooms, indoor pool, steam rooms and more than a dozen community service agencies.