Construction for the new SCV Senior Center is underway, and officials hope the new building will offer more services to more seniors in the Santa Clarita community.

The brand new, 30,000-square-foot, two-story center will be centrally located at Golden Valley Road and Newhall Ranch Road on 2.5 acres of newly-developed land. The center is set to include amenities including a Banquet Hall that can seat over 250 people, a fireplace lounge/library, six multi-purpose rooms, a fitness center & dance studio, and an outdoor cabana with concert seating.

“A group of people got together and said, ‘We’re growing out of the current senior center,’” said Kevin MacDonald, executive director for the SCV Senior Center. “It’s a county-owned building, and we’ve loved it for many years, but we need to grow.”

The new Santa Clarita Senior Center plans to continue providing existing programs such as home-delivered meals, caregiver education and support, case management, information and referrals and the culinary arts center.

In addition to these services, the new Santa Clarita Senior Center will include a health and wellness center, senior rights center, employment center, financial center and fashion center, according to officials.

“They are my family here,” said Tommie Ward, ambassador for the SCV Senior Center. “This is my home away from home. I love this place, I’d do anything I can for the senior center.”

Officials have speculated that the current number of seniors within Santa Clarita is expected to grow by 9,600 people, bringing the total number of seniors within the Santa Clarita Valley to 42,000.

The new Santa Clarita Senior Center was funded by a number of private and public donors, including initial grants from both the County of Los Angeles and the City of Santa Clarita, with each donating $3 million. And on top of the original grant, the city council approved an additional $500,000 in 2017.

But despite these donations, the new center is still a million dollars shy of the funds it needs to operate.

“We’re still trying to raise money,” MacDonald said. “We still need to raise $1 million before opening day to make ends meet, and we’re going after that now. We think the community will come together to support us to make it happen.”

The new Senior Center is expected to open its doors in spring of 2019, according to officials.

For more information on the new Santa Clarita Senior Center, or to donate, click here.

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