Jackson Senior Center expanding dining area

Increasing demand at the Jackson Senior Center has resulted in an expansion that will nearly double the size of its dining room.

Scheduled to start in May and be finished in July, the $150,000 project will increase the dining room from 150 to 270 seats and the size of the building from about 7,200 to 8,500 square feet. More space also will allow for larger functions as well as an expanded dance floor for special occasions.

A crew from Foltz Brothers of Sedgewickville, Mo., will extend the south part of the dining area by 18 feet. A new sprinkler system also will be installed throughout the building. During the construction the center will not close, center leaders said.

"This can only build up our community, which seniors are an important part of," said Tom Garrett, vice president of the Jackson Senior Citizens Foundation, which is raising the funds for the project. "Once we finish the project, it will be a place for more seniors in our community, and even in other towns, to come and enjoy a larger space to socialize, whether that's with playing cards, sharing a meal together or dancing."

The foundation is raising some of the money needed through rentals of the building for special functions. Garrett said letters requesting donations will be mailed in mid-April to Jackson Chamber of Commerce members and others in the community.

Lester Maevers, a past president and current member of the foundation board and building committee, believes seniors will enjoy the added space for the more popular events, such as fried fish lunches and dances.

"We're trying to satisfy the needs of the larger numbers on peak days," Maevers said. "There are some days when we won't need that much space, but on certain days we are pretty much filled to capacity."

The Jackson Senior Center opened at 402 E. Washington St. in 1976, serving 70 people daily. By the time the center relocated into its new building at 2690 Travelers Way in July 2005, it was serving about 165 people each day. In 2009 the center served about 265 meals a day.

Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr said the senior center is an important part of the community.

"It provides many other programs for education, exercise, self-help, assistance with taxes and other programs like dancing and musical entertainment just for fun," she said. "It fills a niche for our senior citizens."

Edna Peetz of Tilsit has eaten at the center nearly every day for more than 20 years. Peetz said she is excited about the extra space that will be available for monthly dances and meals.

"This is like my second family," Peetz said shortly after finishing her lunch Monday. "I enjoy coming for the fun things we do here and visiting with my friends. Once they build the extra room, it will help out with the dances especially, which can get pretty crowded at times."

Jackson developer Chad Hartle helped write a grant for the center to obtain funding to relocate adjacent to his Jackson Senior Garden Apartments II, which were built the same year as the senior center.

"Jackson is a wonderful community for seniors," said Hartle, who owns three other senior housing developments in Jackson. "We have so many services and everything a senior needs. The aging population doesn't move away, and I suspect we'll continue to see the need for senior housing and the senior center in the years to come."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

Pertinent addresses:

2690 Travelers Way, Jackson, MO

101 Court St., Jackson, MO