Antonioni tours Senior Center as work continues

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — Awaiting a grant from the Community Development Fund, Mayor Mark Hawke and members of the City Council led state Sen. Robert Antonioni, D-Leominster, on a tour of the Senior Center Wednesday, to show projected renovations for the building, which would include renovating the bathrooms in the basement as well as remodeling the layout of the offices on the second floor. According to Jennifer Dymek, grants administrator for the city, the amount Mr. Hawke requested for renovations is $450,000. The engineer in charge of the renovations provided this number as an estimate. In addition to renovating the two current bathrooms in the basement, a single unisex bathroom is to be constructed. There is an immediate need for this third bathroom, according to Dan Novak, senior center director. The third bathroom would solve an ongoing accessibility problem at the senior center for members who use wheelchairs. Additional plans for renovations include the offices located on the second floor. The offices, which are currently arranged into one large room, are to be divided by constructing new walls. “The addition of walls would create a better flow into the main hall,” Mr. Hawke said. The new handicap-accessible elevators in the building, which are currently out of service as they await to be properly inspected, are also being fully renovated. “If you notice,” said Mr. Hawke “the elevator doors on the second floor open directly into the main office. With this grant, we will be able to realign the walls on the upper floor and create new hallways and offices for the senior center employees.” The Environmental Review board is still in the approval process for major construction to the senior center. According to Ms. Dymek, if the construction is shown to avoid any long-term effects on the surrounding environment, construction is slated to begin in April 2009.

Appeared on Page 1 on 4/3/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 80)