Senior center expands
Published 10:58 pm Monday, December 17, 2007
LYNNWOOD — The city got a bigger senior center without needing to move the center to a new location.
The Lynnwood Senior Center, in the Scriber Square Shopping Center at 5800 198th St. SW, was expanded this year into two adjacent units in the strip mall.
A new dance floor, a computer lab and more classrooms were added to the center, which increased from 4,175 square feet to 6,480 square feet.
A grand-reopening party was recently held at the center, which was closed for more than two months during renovations.
Before the expansion, the city had to rent space elsewhere to hold exercise and dance classes for seniors. Now, everything can be handled in-house, said Mary-Anne Grafton, recreation supervisor-senior center for the city of Lynnwood.
Q: Does this feel like a new building?
Grafton: It has an entirely different feel. It’s much more like the way we wanted it to be. We wanted it to say, “welcome, come in, this is a great place to be.”
Q: What other work was done in addition to the new rooms and computer lab?
Grafton: We have a new pantry, and two new (Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant) restrooms in addition to the two that we already had. We had the ceilings painted, the walls painted and the floors painted throughout the facility, and kitchen renovations and some new furnishings for the space.
Q: Is there any finishing work left to do?
Grafton: We still have a patio planned where we hope to have a fenced-in area for people to sit outside when the weather is nicer, but that’s still in the works.
Q: How have you liked the new space?
Grafton: It’s been not quite a month yet, and we’ve spent quite a bit of this time unpacking. We’ve been unpacking and settling in, and giving lots of tours and inviting lots of people in to look at the space. We are just starting to increase our programming.
Q: Where did you hold classes while the center was closed?
Grafton: The center held classes at several locations, such as the Lynnwood Elks Club, the Cedar Valley Grange, the (Lynnwood) Recreation Center, the Lynnwood Fire Department and City Hall. The community partners who let us use their space let us use it for free. Nobody charged us rent for anything.
Q: Why were these renovations needed?
Grafton: The city has a five-year lease for the senior center space, but the number of seniors in the community is growing. I think this location is temporary, but this is certainly something that was necessary and will allow us to grow our membership and do more programming for the foreseeable future.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
