LAKE STEVENS — The way is clear for Lake Stevens seniors to have a new gathering place.
The city received another $100,000 from the state for a new 2,800-square-foot building, more than three times the size of the current space.
The city already had $200,000 in hand in state money and a $136,300 grant from Snohomish County, city administrator Jan Berg said.
The $436,300 project involves purchasing a modular building for the city’s planned new Eagle Ridge Park at 2302 Soper Hill Road. The last $100,000 will enable the city to fit the building with a commercial kitchen and other furnishings.
The building can be open by August, Berg said.
“It’s full speed ahead now,” she said.
The Lake Stevens Senior Center has been meeting in a leased city building, the Community-Senior Center at 1814 Main St.
The center provides free lunches for up to 50 people every Friday; classes in arts, crafts, writing and safe driving; and support groups. A bridge group also meets there.
The building is only 900 square feet, and there’s often not enough room for the Friday lunches, senior center director Joyce Bell said. The new space, including the kitchen, is expected to solve that problem.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” Bell said.
Seniors share the current building with other community groups, such as the Lake Stevens Family Center, and sometimes events come close to running together.
Eagle Ridge, annexed into the city in 2005, was selected for the new center because the city owns the land and because the downtown area is targeted for eventual redevelopment, said Police Chief Randy Celori, who started on the project when the city was between public works directors.
There’s more room to expand, and the area will have room for gardening programs, Celori said. The new location also features walking trails through the five-acre park.
The senior center was trying to scrape up money to help fund the new building — money collected through bake sales and gift wrapping, Bell said.
“It really is something that’s needed in this community. We have a lot of seniors and we don’t have the services out here for them,” Bell said. “It’s a real blessing.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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