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City Council finds location to build new senior center
By Joann Liao
The Sunnyvale City Council decided to locate the new senior center on the Community Center campus on July 20, ending nearly two years of discussion on the topic.
"It's closer to public transportation, which makes it easier for seniors," Vice Mayor Pat Vorreiter said. "Also it's more visible from the main street."
A majority of the seniors in the audience said they were pleased with the council's decision. "We're happy that we're going to have a new center," said Michaelena Hughes, a member of the Senior Advisory Committee, a group that serves as a liaison between older citizens and city staff. "We'll have all the senior activities in one location now."
Council made its decision after deliberating two final options that were developed by city staff. Staff created the options with input from public hearings and the Senior Advisory Committee.
The plan council chose places the center near the intersection of Manet Drive and the entry into the Community Center complex. The new structure will be located on the turf area between that intersection and the main Community Center building.
Council opted for this option because of its visibility, it would create a separate identity for the facility and it could house a separate space for outdoor programs councilmembers said. Council also decided that it offered the most aesthetically pleasing architectural design opportunities.
The plan also maintains existing parking without interfering with neighborhood traffic patterns, Vorreiter said.
Some residents expressed frustration at the chosen option, however, saying that it would not integrate well with the other buildings and that it uses up too much open space. The new building will occupy approximately three-fourths of an acre of land near the Community Center.
Kenneth Cook, a 20-year Sunnyvale resident who spoke at the council meeting, protested the erosion of green space. "I like the park-like aspect of the community center," Cook said at the meeting.
The option council did not choose would have had a lesser impact on open space, according to a city report, but it would have owed more traffic onadjacent residential streets. It also would have reduced future expansion options for the new center.
After gathering public input, the city staff found that consensus appeared to be in favor of the option it had chosen.
"The location was more attractive visually," said John Lawrence, the center's senior leisure services manager. "Also, it was incorporated into the other buildings there but separate enough not to be just another community center building that can be taken over by other groups."
Now that the council has determined the site, the next step in the process calls for the architect to draw up a detailed design for the building.
The city chose the Steinberg Group as the architect for the project.
"They definitely came out on top," Lawrence, said. "They had good references and they had worked on similar buildings."
Also, the Steinberg Group has a gerontology expert who could advise them on the needs of older citizens, Lawrence added.
"The needs of older people are different from those of the rest of the community," he said.
Estelle Bennett, a senior citizen and member of the Senior Advisory Committee, said she felt the city had done a good job of gathering public opinion and addressing seniors' concerns about the new center.
"I like [the advisory committee] very much," Bennett said. "It's practical, it's down-to-earth and it's doing a lot of good."
The current senior center is housed at the Adair Elementary School site, which the city leased from the Sunnyvale School District in 1982.
In 1997, at the end of the 15-year lease, the school district raised the rent to market rate, leading the city to re-examine the benefits of leasing a site for a senior center versus owning the land that houses it.
Architectural plans are expected to be completed in July 2001. Construction will begin soon after.
The new senior center is expected to be completed in 2003.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
