Senior Center Contract To Be Signed

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs told seniors Tuesday the contract for the new senior center will be signed at 11 a.m. Thursday (Jan. 4, 2007) at the present leased space at 305 West Front Street.

Robinson-Briggs called Senior Center President Charles Nelson up to the podium to make sure he would be there Thursday. Robinson-Briggs wanted Nelson to be a special signatory to the contract for the new center, the goal of members since 1999 when a 10-year lease expired at the leased space. Seniors have opposed several interim proposals, holding out for their very own new building.

Early in 2006, officials suggested that the proposed site might have a better use, launching an outcry by seniors. In July, the mayor introduced a developer who proposed building the center at no cost to the city, with 63 condos overhead. On Dec. 7, that plan won Planning Board approval.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 22, the City Council agreed to convey the 1.5 acre city-owned tract to the Union County Improvement Authority for an undisclosed “nominal” amount. The mayor was also given authority to convey the land to the developer.

Dornoch has pledged to have the building occupied within a year of receiving all approvals. While the senior center will be tax-exempt, the condo complex is expected to bring in $400,000 in tax revenue annually.

The condo complex is the only one among several “transit-oriented” proposals to get city acceptance. The two-bedroom condos would sell at market rate, or more than $300,000, according to the developer.

Square footage for the proposed new senior center has varied, but on the November 2006 site plan submission it is listed as 13,400 square feet. The plan includes rooms for cards, music, television, billiards, computers, library, health exams, offices and a multi-use room for events. Seniors would have access to the condo roof garden on the second floor as part of the deal.

--Bernice Paglia