Cedar Rapids could have its first senior center since 2008, if a proposal from Horizons, A Family Service Alliance becomes reality.
Mike Barnhart, Horizons president and chief executive officer, said in an Aug. 5 presentation to the LInn County Board of Supervisors that the new center, dubbed “Our Place” and estimated to cost $2.5 million, would occupy about 8,000 square feet of renovated extra space in the organization’s existing facility at 819 Fifth Ave. SE.
The city’s previous senior center, the Witwer Center at 605 Second Ave. SE, was heavily damaged in the city’s 2008 flood and never reopened.
In the ensuing years, several proposals have surfaced for a new senior center in Cedar Rapids, but none have come to fruition, Mr. Barnhart noted. Most recently, the city of Cedar Rapids launched a study on the feasibility of a large-scale Intergenerational Center as part of the city’s Age-Friendly Action Plan, adopted in 2022.
That study, supported by a survey of local residents, concluded a new facility could take eight to 10 years to complete, at an estimated cost of $60 million or more.
After that survey, a donor emerged that offered to fund a significant portion of a new senior center, in cooperation with Horizons, at a significantly lower cost.
“Our budget is like $2.5 million, and we think we can get it done by next September,” Mr. Barnhart said. “We might be a little aggressive with that, but we think we can get it done before the end of next year.”
“We looked at the survey that the city had done, and of the age group 65 and above, by far, they were practically screaming ‘we want a senior center,’” he added.
The donor, Mr. Barnhart said, “has worked on the senior center committees for probably 15 years, since the Witwer Center has been gone. And we walked (the Horizons) space and decided we could make a senior center out of the space, so we started to do our due diligence about what a senior center would look like.”
Horizons representatives reached out to other senior centers across the country, as well as senior centers in Iowa City and Davenport, to determine the projects and programs that would be most impactful in a Cedar Rapids facility.
“Even though (our site) is smaller than those other facilities, we think we could do almost all of the (same) programs in this site, other than an indoor walking track,” Mr. Barnhart said, noting he planned to reach out to the nearby Helen G. Nassif YMCA to gauge the possibility of using their track for some fitness programming.
The most popular programs at the Davenport center, Mr. Barnhart said, are tai chi and chair yoga, both of which could readily be offered in Cedar Rapids.
“The thing we continue to hear is there is no argument that there is a need in the community,” said Paula Sand, special projects lead at Horizons. “We’re really wanting to address social health, financial health and physical health.”
A separate survey is being conducted by Horizons, in cooperation with de Novo Marketing, Ms. Land said, and has garnered about 400 responses so far.
“We have various programming ideas, and that’s really what we’re testing in the survey,” Ms. Sand said. “We really want to make sure that whatever we create is something that is of interest and needed (by) seniors in this community.”
The board of supervisors voted unanimously Aug. 5 to approve Horizons’ request for $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help cover architectural, construction and programming development costs for the proposed facility.
“Having grown up in this community all my life, we’re seeing a lot of amenities to try and attract and retain young professionals, but not a lot to address aging adults in making this as welcoming and vibrant and inclusive for other generations as we have for maybe the younger generation,” supervisor Ben Rogers said. “I think will go a long ways to make this community welcoming for all.”
Board of supervisors chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt said she’s met with many local leaders in recent years about the need for a new senior center, and noted it would help meet a number of issues that have arisen for seniors, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The social isolation was magnified by COVID, and this is part of us getting out of that mindset, moving forward with the kind of quality of life that we want for our seniors in this community,” she said. “I am really happy and grateful that we can be a part of this process moving forward, because this is such a great need in our community.”
According to the Horizons survey, “Our Place” would serve as “a new gathering place for older adults to learn and live well.”
“Our Place is a nonprofit program committed to helping build well-being among Cedar Rapids area residents aged 55+,” the survey indicates. “Our Place will be a warm, welcoming place to visit, with a coffeehouse-style café, fitness studio, large activity rooms and plenty of space for both organized activities and casual get-togethers.”
The facility would “organize both fun and educational activities five days a week, often bringing trusted medical, fitness and financial partners,” the survey adds, with programming that could include:
- Discussion groups, movies, hobby clubs, classes and day trips;
- Nutritional lunches, fitness classes, health screenings, vaccine clinics; and
- Financial seminars, 1-on-1 planning, VITA tax services, budgeting and workshops.
To participate in the Horizons survey, click here.
