GREENFIELD — After two decades of planning efforts by various committees, the Town of Greenfield will finally get a new senior/community center.
Town Council voted during its meeting Wednesday night to borrow $4.2 million to fund the project after seeing redesigned plans that lower the cost of the building by reducing square footage and removing amenities that could be added at a later time.
The final motion approved by the council also struck the word “senior” from the original motion, replacing it instead with “community center.”
The redesigned plan cut $1 million from the price tag, reducing the square footage from just under 12,000 square feet to just under 10,000 square feet.
An original request to borrow $5.25 million for the project was rejected by the council last month, as well as an amended amount of $4.75 million. However, Council Vice President Isaac Mass filed a motion for reconsideration the following day, allowing the council to vote again this month.
The new plans, unveiled during Wednesday’s meeting, cut out administrative space in the building as well as the computer lab and arts and crafts space, and some classrooms have become multi-purpose rooms.
“This will not be the senior center that everybody wants, but it certainly will be a much better senior center than what we have currently,” Mass said.
Project Manager Daniel Pallotta of P3 Inc. in Norwell said the building has also been made more symmetrical so parts can be mass produced and put together easily. Parking has also been reduced from 89 spaces to 69 spaces and the building has been made more south-facing to help address concerns about energy-efficiency.
The project has been in the works for about 20 years. During that time, various committees have worked to identify sites for the project, secure funding and develop recommendations for space utilization. The new building will sit on the site of the former Davis Street School.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Senior Center Director Hope Macary outlined issues with the current facility, including health concerns due to mold and poor ventilation, lack of parking and safe access to public transportation and minimum compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Many residents voiced support for the project during an hour-long public comment period before the vote, citing issues with the current facility, the growing elderly population and the need for seniors to have a place to participate in programs and socialize.
A number also expressed support for keeping the current green space that exists there, including the community gardens. Pallotta said the gardens are included in the new plan and the UMass Extension will certify the soil to make sure it has the proper nutrients, as gardeners have spent years improving the soil in the current gardens.
Precinct 6 Councilor Maria Burge voiced support for the plan prior to the vote, but said she was concerned about who would schedule programming in the new center.
“I’m in favor of this plan, but I want to be sure we’re going to use it as a community center and that we will not have limited access,” she said.
Mayor William Martin responded, saying, “I think the council can be involved in designing a schedule, designing the use of the space. … Right after the foundation is dug, that will be one of the things we work on.”
Precinct 8 Councilor Ashli Stempel said she believes the community aspect of the building is important, especially for multi-generational uses.
“We have to look into the future, that’s a conversation we’re having right now,” she said. “We can’t keep building single-use buildings. I support this with the community-use addition to this proposal.”
However, she said the town needs to come up with a strategy for how all the projects that are currently in the works, such as the library and public safety complex, will be built and decommissioned.
“It could become a very expensive chess game,” she said.