May 26, 2015

Auburn designs $9M center to bring young people and seniors together

Image from the city of Auburn [enlarge]

The goal is to attract young people and encourage them to interact with people at the senior center. The parks director says those groups can learn a lot from each other.

Design work is nearly done for a 21,000-square-foot community center in Auburn that is intended to bring together young people and seniors.

The site is at Les Gove Community Campus in Auburn, and the city will put out a bid advertisement on June 9.

The $9 million project will renovate the 7,300-square-foot Parks, Arts & Recreation administration building to create a youth center, and add 13,700 square feet to it for the community center.

The city says the goal is to create a place that will attract young people and encourage them to interact with people at the neighboring senior center. The youth center will connect to the east side of the park's gym, which connects to the senior center by a covered walkway. Young people will be able to use the gym after school until 7 p.m., and adults and seniors will have it the rest of the time.

ARC Architects principal Daniel Podoll said the community center and youth center will share a lobby that is designed to attract multi-generational groups.

He said the lobby will be a transition zone between the two centers, but there will be other places for people to interact, such as having young people teach seniors how to use computers in the youth center.

Parks, Arts & Recreation Director Daryl Faber said young people and seniors normally don't interact, so the city also will offer programs and events — such as classes in digital photography and cooking — designed to interest both generations.

“The intergeneration stuff, once it happens, is really cool,” he said. “They learn a lot from each other.”

The community center will have offices for city staff, a public fitness room, a classroom and a multipurpose room that can be divided into three spaces for events.

The youth center will have an activity room, computer lab, art/makers room, and a commercial kitchen that can be used for teaching and for catering events in the multipurpose room. The activity room will have a convertible stage for impromptu performances.

Podoll said the youth center will be set up like a coffee bar, with a reception desk and places to lounge. Faber said it will have an urban industrial look.

The project will also rework the site to create a better park entrance from the new center, and double the existing 68 parking stalls.

City officials hope to start construction this summer and open the center in June 2016.

An open house for general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and others will start at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Kiwanis Room at the Parks, Recreation and Arts Building, 910 Ninth St. S.E.

In addition to architect ARC, the design team is KPFF Consulting Engineers (civil and structural), Travis Fitzmaurice (electrical), FSI Consulting Engineers (mechanical), SSA Acoustics (audio-visual), Swift Co. (landscape) and Clevanger Associates (food service).

Funding comes from a $3 million state grant and $6 million from the city.