Construction to Begin on Community Center

After years of planning and negotiations, the first shovel of dirt marking the beginning of construction of the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center will be turned Wednesday.

Despite a recent setback in potential funding for the $5-million-plus project, organizers are pushing forward to complete the joint venture that will provide recreational activities to residents throughout the region.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. at the site, 27040 Malibu Hills Road adjacent to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.

When completed, the 30,000-square-foot facility will include a gymnasium, weight and exercise room, dance room, community meeting room, teen and senior centers and play areas.

City officials said grading is expected to begin on the site in the next few months, and construction, due to begin in April, is expected to take about a year.

The project is being funded equally by both cities, primarily using funds from the county Safe Neighborhood Parks Act of 1992 and 1996.

Although $3.8 million has been set aside to date, a nonprofit community group has been created to raise a portion of the additional needed funds and to establish an endowment for future funding.

The cities had hoped that a funding request sponsored by Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) for $400,000 would put them closer to their goal, but Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed the item in the final state budget.