Northborough

Family League

Enhancing quality of life for Northborough families

Key Reasons for a New Senior Center

• It’s too small now—Current Town senior population is 2377.  The State projects this population to grow to 3800 by 2020.  The senior population has doubled since the present Senior Center was built in 1984.

• It’s severely undersized based upon projected demands—Current Senior Center is 2678 sq. ft.  Proposed conceptual design is 15,395 sq. ft.  According to guidelines of 5-6 sq. ft. per elder from the State’s Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the present Center should be at least 11,885 sq. ft. before taking into account any demographic projections.

• Lack of programming space—There is only one main room at the Senior Center to schedule programs.  Therefore, simultaneous events are not possible and many programs must be held off-site due to scheduling conflicts or size constraints.  The kitchen is too small to support events held at the Center.

• Increasingly fragmented approach to programming—When demand for a program exceeds the capacity of the Senior Center, space must be sought elsewhere within the community, so as not to turn away interested seniors. Often, seniors attending a program at the center become involved in other social activities and become aware of services through exposure to on-site resources and staff.

• Lack of Parking—Parking is woefully inadequate with only 5 spaces (including one handicapped slot).  Overflow parking requires significant walking, which poses a safety concern for those with mobility issues trying to attend programs during evening hours or poor weather conditions.

• Lack of Confidential meeting space—There is a lack of private meeting space for seniors seeking to take advantage of programs relating to health, finances, insurance or legal assistance.

• Artificially constrained program offerings for Northborough Seniors—Programmatic offerings related to health, fitness, medical assistance, counseling and social outlets for seniors in Northborough are being artificially restricted due to the inadequate size and accommodations of the existing facility.  Demographic trends clearly indicate that this will only worsen in the coming years as the projected senior population continues to grow.