The concussive thuds of sledgehammers reverberated through Horizons – A Family Service Alliance Friday, March 13, as government and community leaders gathered for a demolition ceremony marking the beginning of construction for a new senior activities center.
The project marks a key moment in Cedar Rapids history – the city hasn’t had a dedicated senior center since the flood of 2008 devastated the Witwer Senior Center in downtown Cedar Rapids, and multiple subsequent efforts to restore the community resource failed to materialize.
The senior center project, known as “Our Place,” will create a 13,000-square-foot space, including a cafe, three classrooms, an exercise studio, a library, a movie theater and an outdoor pickleball court, at the existing Horizons building, 819 Fifth St. SE.
About 71% of the center’s $5.5 million capital campaign budget has been raised so far, Horizons officials said, anchored by a $2 million anonymous donation announced in December.
A campaign is now underway to complete the fundraising effort.
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Jim Miller, Horizon’s vice president of development, launched Friday’s event by recounting a recent conversation with a local resident about the community’s longstanding lack of a senior center.
“He said, ‘are you the Horizons guy?’” Mr. Miller said. “I was thinking, am I in trouble? He said, ‘You delivered a Meals on Wheels lunch to me a couple weeks ago.’ He then said, and I quote, ‘it’s about time Horizons got it together and built a community center. I’m old, and there’s been a lot of excuses, and I’m so excited this is happening.’ I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Horizons CEO Katie Oatsvall noted that demand for a dedicated senior center is being spurred by demographics – by 2030, there will be more people 60 and older in the United States than those 18 and younger.
“That is the first time in our country’s 250-year anniversary that that will have happened,” she said. “Cedar Rapids is no exception to this shift. Today, one in five residents of our community is 60 or over. That’s one in five, and that number continues to grow, making today’s milestone even more meaningful.”
The “sledgehammer” event Friday represents more than the beginning of construction for the senior center, Ms. Oatsvall said.
“It represents our commitment to the people who helped build this community long before we stood here today,” she said. “Our elders are our storytellers, our teachers, our volunteers, our mentors and our friends. They have shaped our neighborhoods, our families and our values. This center is our way of honoring that legacy and ensuring they have a place where they can continue to thrive and call their own.”
Ms. Oatsvall also thanked Linn County for their $200,000 contribution from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and significant gifts from the Hall-Perrine Foundation, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust and TrueNorth, along with numerous other private donations.
“Your commitment shows what can happen when a community comes together around a shared purpose,” she said. “Most importantly, the center is for older adults, the people who have paved the roads we walk, have built the schools where we have learned and strengthen the community we are proud to call home. Today, we break ground, not just on a building, but on a future filled with opportunity, dignity and connection for all generations. This project today sends a powerful message that older adults are valued, not only for what they have contributed, but for what they will continue to contribute to our community.”
Linn County supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt said the county’s $200,000 contribution was spurred by local seniors saying they faced growing isolation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ I know that with this senior center moving forward, not only can we work towards solving some of that social isolation, but we can be even bigger and better than that as a community,” she said.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said the city is proposing up to $500,000 in financial support from the city’s general fund for the project, pending approval of a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
“We’ve learned that community doesn’t stop at retirement,” Ms. O’Donnell said, “and in fact, we know that the people who say they’re retired are often the busiest people we know. Older adults, or more mature adults, are looking for those ways to stay engaged and make a difference in their community. And I like to think that this place will be a catalyst for that. It isn’t just a building. We know that it is an answer and a response to our community, to what they’ve said they need. They want that connection. They want that purpose and a welcoming place to belong.”
Horizons’ on-site services, including the local Meals on Wheels program, Neighborhood Transportation Services (NTS) and the Financial Wellness Center, will continue uninterrupted as construction progresses, leaders said.
To support the campaign or learn more about the project, go to www.horizonsfamily.org/ourplace.
The “Our Place” senior center is expected to open in the spring of 2027, Horizons officials said.
Horizons was established in 1960 as the Family Service Agency. Today, the organization has 52 employees and a $4.6 million annual operating budget.
