The New YMCA in Koreatown to Open on 27th

March 7, 2014
The new YMCA in Koreatown sits on 3rd Street and Oxford Avenue. (Park Sang-hyuk)

The new YMCA in Koreatown sits on 3rd Street and Oxford Avenue. (Park Sang-hyuk)

By The Korea Times Los Angeles staff

The new YMCA in Koreatown will soon be open to the public. The opening ceremony will begin at 10 p.m. on March 27, just over a year after construction began in February 2013.

The center, which sits on 3rd St. and Oxford Ave., will be named the Anderson Munger Family YMCA after its biggest donors, Berkshire Hathaway Vice President Charles Munger and John and Marion Anderson.

Encompassing two stories and 30,000 square feet, the center will feature two swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, a state-of-the-art gym and, on the rooftops, a track field and a basketball court. A daycare center for afterschool education and community rooms will also be available. A 160-car parking garage will round out the amenities.

The project cost a total of $25.3 million, with funds from the community and $6 million from the Community Redevelopment Agency.

Cristina Rose, chair of the YMCA of Metropolitan LA, said about 700 people, including Koreans, contributed to the funding of the center.

The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles estimates that about 20,000 Koreatown people will use the facility yearly.

The center will be open to the public April 12.