Napa now has the money and design in hand to remodel its 40-year-old Senior Activity Center, the prelude to a multimillion-dollar expansion in the future.
The City Council’s acceptance of a $394,750 state grant Tuesday will provide much of the funding for a makeover that will modernize the interior of the Jefferson Street community building, which opened in 1976. City parks officials expect to break ground on the $899,450 upgrade in April and complete the work in six months.
Plans from the firm Williams Architects/Aquatics would rearrange the Senior Center within the existing 11,700-square-foot envelope, overhauling the kitchen, multi-use rooms, entrance, lighting, floors and wall treatments.
The city’s Parks and Recreation department also has outlined outdoor additions to the Senior Center such as an exercise area, fire pit and gazebo, but rising Bay Area construction costs led officials to focus its money on interior fixes first.
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Architects’ estimates put the price with all the options at $1.4 million, which is leading Napa to seek grants and private sponsorship to cover the cost of outdoor fixtures.
But given the Senior Center’s age and the increasing popularity of outdoor activities, Napa should find the means to add as many of the outdoor fixtures as possible to make the building more immediately useful, said Councilman Peter Mott.
“Seems like the Senior Center is being shortchanged,” he said. “At the same time we’re building a new fire station, we’re saying, ‘Oh, we’re short on budget, so we’re knocking off a part of this.’ It all looks great; I just don’t want it to look only half great.”
Part of the reluctance to fully open the city’s checkbook may lie in the fact that next year’s upgrades are meant to be only the first of two stages to bring the Senior Center up to date, replied Councilman Scott Sedgley. The second phase, expected to cost about $6 million, would expand the building to 19,985 square feet, opening more room for a library, indoor fitness center and meeting space.
The upgrade plans have arisen from surveys of Senior Center visitors and staff who have asked for friendlier social spaces, better exercise facilities and a more modern kitchen area, particularly to support meals-on-wheels delivery for elderly or infirm Napans. Suggestions have included a bocce court and deck facing the nearby Napa Creek, as well as areas for reading, arts classes and computer use.