KHTS was given the opportunity to tour the site of the new Canyon Country Community Center, which will house a variety of rooms, activity spaces, and the City’s first demonstration teaching kitchen once completed.

On Thursday, officials from the City of Santa Clarita invited KHTS to tour the progress of the new Canyon Country Community Center, a 25,000 square-foot facility located on several acres of land near the intersection of Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway.

“That was derived from a public process with the community to have them tell us what they wanted in their building,” City Parks Planning Manager and Project Manager Wayne Weber told KHTS during the tour. 

During the planning of the project, officials looked to incorporate art from the community throughout the center. This includes a 25-foot-tall, stainless steel oak “Communitree” at the entrance, sidewalk poetry, a tile wall, multiple sculptures, and specially-designed manhole covers.

“There’s a lot of finishes and extra details to the site that we have incorporated to bring a quality product to the entire community,” Weber said. “We think that we’ve hit on a lot of those.”

Weber showing off the entrance to the center. Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

The building itself is a Class B steel building, and the framing was erected by a crew of only five people in about five weeks.

“It was amazing,” Weber said. “All the pieces came from the factory numbered, so they all came out here, they were all placed, they were all lifted up one piece at a time, erected one piece at a time. They put all that together.”

When residents first enter the main building, they can sign in as members at a front desk immediately to the left of the entrance, with membership set to be free to the public.

“There’s going to be a series of contract classes, (and) programs for youth and adults all happening at the same time,” Julie Calderon, community services supervisor for the City of Santa Clarita, told KHTS during the tour. “So it is extremely important for people to check in so we know how many people are in the building at any given time.”

Weber shows the progress of the center’s fitness room. Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

After leaving the lobby, residents can turn right to find a classroom, an exercise room, and a full-sized gymnasium, complete with set-ups for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball.

“This has a lot of multi-use to it,” Weber said.

Residents can also turn left after leaving the lobby to find an arts and crafts room, and a 4,800 square-foot banquet room that houses the first demonstration teaching kitchen in the City’s Parks and Recreation system.

“This one is actually commercial grade, complete with all the stainless steel and commercial appliances,” Weber said. 

Weber explaining what the City’s first demonstration teaching kitchen will look like. Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

When residents walk outside of the main building, they will be able to view various art pieces in the surrounding area, including three 8-foot sculptures, a tile wall visible from the lobby, and a variety of poems submitted by the community etched into the winding sidewalk surrounding the outdoor facilities. 

“There’s a ton of interesting things to see out on the site,” Weber said.

Once outside, residents have access to an outdoor basketball court, several fields of grass to play and relax in, and an outdoor stage for future events.

“The coolest thing about this space is it gives you so many areas to build out a festival,” City Events Administrator Dave Knutson told KHTS during the tour. “There’s so many different opportunities we’re going to have.”

Weber gestures towards the center’s outdoor event stage. Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

Calderon shared that many residents are eager for the center to open and replace the current temporary center off of Flying Tiger Drive.

“We have a lady, for instance, who calls me every so often to tell me how excited she is about the progress,” she said. “She can’t wait to walk over and participate in programming.”

Construction is projected to finish by the beginning of fall, and City officials plan on opening it to the public as soon as COVID-19 restrictions allow.

Weber stands outside of the Canyon Country Community Center. Photo by Michael Brown/KHTS News.

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