Fayette

Senior Services is another step closer to having a new

senior center.

Members of Fayette Senior

Services Building Committee, FSS board members, Fayette

County commissioners and the architectural firm of

Flynn-Finderup have been meeting and moving ahead.

At a recent FSS board

meeting, George Flynn and Lars Finderup presented a

conceptual design for the building. The design was based

upon hours of interviews with board members and employees

and volunteers with Fayette Senior Services.

Flynn and Finderup also

relied on their expertise and prior experience. In

addition to numerous other projects, they have designed

three other senior centers.

Based on the input

received, Flynn and Finderup's design will have 80 rooms

and be approximately 22,000 square feet. There will be a

multipurpose room which can accommodate 150 for dining or

100 for dining with a dance floor and stage area.

Additionally, the center

will have card, craft, game and meeting rooms. A series

of lounges "for fellowshipping" will be

available for seniors and the community. A multipurpose

room that will seat up to 100 is also part of the initial

design.

Andy Carden, director of

Fayette Senior Services, noted, "The design will

have the capacity to service the active and inactive

senior in the future. The 80 rooms will provide

individuals with educational and recreational

experience."

He continued, "Seniors

will enjoy space to learn computer skills, to exercise

the mind, body and relaxing with cards and billiards.

While in a different area, others will be having

breakfast and lunch, participate in educational programs

on current events, history flashbacks and exercise."

Another welcome addition

will be the gracious covered porch along the front of the

building. A large warming kitchen is situated in the rear

of the center.

The kitchen will allow

volunteers and employees to serve up to 200

Meals-on-Wheels a day. Meals-on-Wheels volunteers will be

able to park in the rear of the building, solving the

problem with traffic congestion currently occurring at

peak periods. The FSS vans will also be parked in the

rear.

According to George Flynn,

president of Flynn-Finderup Architects, "Fayette

Senior Services has really been an easy group to work

with. They know what they want and have a good vision of

future needs. Their knowledge and willingness to work

with us and rely on our experience is going to make the

project go smoothly."

The architects also are

working closely with the County Commission, mainly

through Vice Chairman Greg Dunn and Jim Mallet, project

manager for the new courthouse and expanded jail. They

are collaborating to ensure that the new senior center

will fit aesthetically into the overall "look"

of the larger project. As an example, the brickwork and

roofing will be of the same material. Also, Flynn and

Finderup have added a slight curve to the building design

as it will face the circular parking lot of the new

courthouse.

"I'm very pleased with

the tremendous amount of progress Fayette Senior Services

has made regarding the project during the past few

months," said Dunn. "Andy Carden and Fayette

Senior Services are aggressively pursuing the development

of the new senior center. I'm also impressed with the

energy that board member Jim Steinbach has brought to the

project."

The next step for

Flynn-Finderup is to complete a set of color

illustrations of the building and floor plans for the FSS

Board to use in fund-raising. Flynn-Finderup will also

provide FSS with a building cost estimate.

One of the first tasks FSS

completed when they began moving ahead with the project

was the development of a tentative budget for the

completion of the entire center. With the building cost

estimate FSS will be able to fine-tune complete project

costs a little closer.

A project budget typically

includes the construction, furnishings, landscaping,

architects and other costs. The building cost basically

includes "bricks and sticks."

Although things are moving

quickly in some ways, funding is a key issue for ensuring

the project is completed. The group is hoping to raise

$600,000 from the community to offset the estimated

overall project cost of $2.4 million.

For more information

regarding the center, contact Andy Carden, Director of

Fayette Senior Services at 770-461-0813.

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