New Austell Senior Center Project On Fast Track To Completion

Austell's new senior center is set to be built in Clarkdale Park, and it could be finished by Christmas, according to county officials.

Members of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners approved the master plan for Clarkdale Park, which includes Austell’s new senior center, on Jan. 25, and at their last meeting approved the hiring of a designer for the facility.

The new Austell Neighborhood Center, which will primarily be used for senior services, will be built in Clarkdale Park because the original location in Austell’s Legion Park flooded twice in the last four years.  In those four years, Clarkdale Park never flooded once.

The center, the first in the region, was established 23 years ago. It is currently being housed at 5315 Brownsville Road in Powder Springs.

The project is on the fast track said Pam Breeden, executive director of Cobb County Senior Services, who believes it could be finished by Christmas.

Two federal grants, which add up to $1.5 million, are being used to fund the project, Breeden said. Some of the funds are from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its flood insurance. Other funds will come from designated stimulus money, which is required to be used by July 1, Breeden explained.

“We just don’t want to have to give the money back,” Breeden said. “It’s a tight schedule, but we think we can be OK with that.”

The facility will also be LEED-certified, meaning that it will be a “green,” energy-efficient building. With that certification, the facility will qualify for additional federal grants.

Breeden said that they want to leave the smallest impact on the environment possible in building this facility.

The new center will be nestled among trees there in Clarkdale Park. 

“We wanted a very relaxed setting,” Breeden told Patch in December.

In addition to being environmentally friendly, they are also seeking to have the facility be as accessible for seniors and people with disabilities as possible. For example, the walking trail will meet all the code standards of the American Disability Act. This means that the trail would have a smoother surface and wider path to be accessible to people in wheelchairs, walkers or canes.

The new facility will also include a Senior Garden that will have raised beds so that people in wheelchairs would be able to reach them. The crops harvested in the garden will be used in the senior services’ Meals on Wheels program.

Many of the previous activities such as the weekend dance clubs, book clubs and exercise programs will continue at the new facility. Arts, history and health education programs as well as activities like bocce ball and horseshoes will also be offered.

The center and its amenities will also be available for use by the community after 5 p.m. on the weekdays and on the weekends.

With the larger facility, Breeden said they would be able to accommodate those individuals on the senior center’s waiting list.

“I think it’s going to be very popular,” Breeden said.

-Patch reporter, Kisha Green, contributed to this report.