Southeast Missourian

The Jackson Senior Center is on its way to getting a new $450,000 facility thanks to a $200,000 state grant announced by Gov. Bob Holden Thursday.

The Community Development Block Grant money is intended to help fund new affordable housing units for low- to moderate-income senior citizens. But the Jackson Senior Center is eligible, according to Holden's press release, because it will complement the adjacent Jackson Senior Garden Apartments II, a 38-unit apartment building being built for seniors.

Richard Aguilar, vice president of the center's board of directors, said the senior center and apartment project were contingent upon one another.

"We made the application in conjunction with each other," Aguilar said. "We've needed a new center for a long time."

The senior center is located at 402 E. Washington St. and is housed in a former grocery store. Aguilar said they have outgrown the center. The building they plan to build will be about twice as large and will have more parking. The new center will be built on West Main Street, just east of South Lacey Street.

The Jackson Senior Garden Apartments II is being built by Jackson resident Chad Hartle, who owns other rental property.

The center averages about 95 meals at the site during the noon hour and also sometimes plays host to bingo players in the same dining area. It's difficult for the building to serve meals and bingo players at the same time, board members have said.

Administrator Debbie Stockton works out of an 8-by-10-foot room, and the center has no conference rooms. Stockton could not be reached for comment.

A larger storage area for food and increased refrigeration also are needed, Aguilar said, along with space for craft programs. The lack of space made giving flu shots at the center impossible, so the program was switched to the American Legion post.

The grant will put the center close to the $450,000 it needs to build its new center. They also plan to sell their current building.

Aguilar said that they had just learned of the grant approval and the board hasn't met on the matter yet. That means that they haven't set any timeline for construction, he said.

"It's all still brand new," he said. "This is all preliminary and nothing's finalized."

The housing grants were made possible through the Community Development Block Grant program, administered by the Department of Economic Development. The CDBG program provides grants to cities with a population under 50,000 and counties under 200,000 to assist in a variety of public work projects that address issues concerning public health and safety.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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