Local YMCA officials confirmed to KHTS AM-1220 the McBean Parkway facility will not close in the coming months, officials said Thursday.

KHTS AM-1220 first broke the story about the potential for the location being closed by the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, which owns the lease for the McBean Parkway facility, back in September.

There was initially speculation the Santa Clarita Valley was going to move to a “Y Without Walls” model, that would utilize pre-existing facilities and partnerships, but leave the longtime community-based organization without a home base in the SCV.

Several calls to the corporate YMCA office seeking comment were not returned Wednesday.

Many were concerned that the closure, which follows a recent capital campaign for several hundred thousand dollars to refurbish the McBean Parkway building, would take away a valuable community resource, as well as harm future efforts by the Y in the area.

Some familiar with the new YMCA building plans said while the new Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center will be ready likely within 18 months, the Five Knolls YMCA facility might not be ready for as many as 10 years.

A new location is being constructed in conjunction with developer Brookfield, who donated the land that will be part of a YMCA and Senior Center, closer to the center of the SCV. However, that plan is several years from shovels going into the ground.

Related story: YMCA Could Close Valencia Facility Dec. 1

Board President Colin Jones sees the McBean facility as an integral part of the community, providing affordable, family-oriented facility that promotes community and health in the Santa Clarita Valley for low-income families, he said in a recent interview for the initial story regarding the potential of the closure.

“This is a low-cost healthy-lifestyle facility that’s providing a wonderful resource to families,” Jones said, mentioning all the child care and other programs anchored at the Valencia location, “at a lower cost for families than what a traditional might offer.”