12
MARCH/APRIL 2015
New Senior Citizen Center
Scheduled to Open Next Year
Idle Hour location gives access to park for outdoor programming
by Abby Malik, Staff Writer
Next year, a new facility will
open in Lexington where community members can come to meet
old friends and make new ones,
work out with cardio and other exercise equipment, learn new moves
in a dance studio and sit down with
a latté from the café and a book
from the library.
This isn’t a new student center
on a college campus: It’s the city
of Lexington’s new Senior Citizen
Center, which is currently under
construction and tentatively scheduled to open in early 2016.
The existing Senior Citizen
Center, located on the corner of
Nicholasville Road and Alumni
Drive, was built more than 30 years
ago.
“Our seniors are far healthier and
more active than anyone would
have thought in 1983,” said Kristi
Stambaugh, Aging Services and
Disability Support administrator
for the Lexington-Fayette Urban
County Government. “The new
center will help support and nurture that.”
There’s certainly a need for a new
Senior Center in Lexington as the
city’s aging population increases.
LEXINGTON SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER for both to the new center. Stambaugh
According to the U.S. Census
tion. This space will allow
Bureau, Lexington residents aged
indoor and outdoor seating.”
believes many seniors Petrovick Architects
will utilize
Catlin +
60 and older make up 16.5 percent
Not only are seniors healthier
this transportation option.
of the city’s population.
and more active than they were 30
“We are lucky to have a bus stop
The new center, which will be
years ago, but they also expect to
on our current property, and many
nearly twice as large as the current
have access to things that just about of our participants utilize public
one, will have classrooms, art stuevery age group expects to have
transportation,” she said.
dios, a music room, a group fitness
access to today: technology.
In addition, the new center will
area and a multi-purpose room
“At the new center we will offer
accommodate more drivers. At
with an elevated platform for preWi-Fi throughout the building. We the current center, they regularly
sentations or productions. Stamwill offer life enrichment classes,
run out of parking spots, so the
baugh said there will be a billiards
arts, education and wellness,” Stnew center will have more parking
and card-playing area and plenty of ambaugh said. “We will offer digital adjacent to the building and annex
space in which to simply socialize.
photography, tablet and Smartparking in the park and through the
When asked which part of the new phone classes and state-of-the-art
generosity of a neighboring church.
center she thinks individuals will
equipment.”
enjoy the most, Stambaugh said it’s
In April of last year, Lextran apa tough choice because there are so proved a bus stop location adjacent
many different options.
“We are so excited that we will
be able to offer a much larger
variety of classes and activities,” Stambaugh said. “The current center
has space for only eight different
classes a day, and the new center
will be able to accommodate 20 to
25 different offerings.
“I am most excited about being
located in the Idle Hour Park
and having access to the park,”
—Kristi Stambaugh,