Groundbreaking is Tuesday on New Centerville Senior Center

SNELLVILLE, GA -- Gwinnett County officials were set to officially break ground on a new senior center near Snellville on Tuesday.

The groundbreaking for the Centerville Senior Center was scheduled for 1 p.m.

It will be located next to the Centerville Community Center, at 3025 Bethany Church Rd.

The 8,500-square-foot, single-story building will serve south Gwinnett residents 60 and older and will feature a dining room, warming kitchen with serving line, multi-purpose room, billiards area, staff offices and support space. The center will be the first senior facility to be funded by the voter-approved special-purpose, local option sales tax program.

County commissioners approved a $2.2 million contract for the senior center in April.

It will serve as a nutrition site, the county announced, offering healthy meals to seniors.

Programming will promote healthy lifestyles and include activities that promote socialization and health and wellness.

Card games, billiards, interactive Wii Fit games and tai chi are some of the activities planned at the center, along with fall-prevention classes and chronic-disease self management classes, including one taught in Spanish.

The Gwinnett County Health and Human Services Division operates similar senior centers in Buford, Lawrenceville and Norcross, with a satellite center operating at the Centerville Community Center since 2013. Parks and Recreation also runs senior centers at Bethesda Park and George Pierce Park.

Scheduled speakers at Tuesday's groundbreaking included Gwinnett Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Charlotte Nash, District 2 Commissioner Lynette Howard and State Sen. Gloria Butler.