by Josh Lanier

HUNTERSVILLE – After nearly six months of searching for a more affordable location, the North Mecklenburg Senior Center has a new home.

The facility will begin moving into the Solid Rock Christian Church, at 16601 Old Statesville Road, in Huntersville this week and will officially re-open Nov. 7. The center will be closed next week as the staff and volunteers move equipment to the new facility.

“We’re pretty excited about our new home,” said Trena Palmer, executive director of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Senior Centers Inc. “I think it’s going to suit us perfectly.”

The nonprofit Senior Center has been searching for new quarters since May, when leaders learned they couldn’t afford the rising utility costs at the 10,000-square-foot facility at The River Church in Cornelius. There was even talk of closing the six-year-old center if a new, more affordable location couldn’t be found.

“Even if you’re not using all of those 10,000 square feet, you still have to pay to heat and cool them,” Palmer said. “That was really more space than we needed anyway, and the utilities for it were just too much to afford.”

The cost of the new 7,000 square-foot facility was not released.

Along with the monetary needs, the Senior Center also needed a new building with classrooms, near mass transit, had enough parking spaces and had a kitchen. Solid Rock Christian Church met all of those needs.

Church leaders also feels the move is a perfect it.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to partner and spread our net in the community,” Solid Rock Pastor Sylvester Williams told CorneliusNews.net. The Herald Weekly could not reach Williams before press deadline.

The schedule of programs at the center will remain the same at the new location through the end of the year, according to Joanne Ahern, director of the North Mecklenburg Center, and she hopes to expand programming next year, said.

“I think our new location will give us that option,” Ahern said. “I like to think we’ll be providing more programs in the future.”

The Senior Center has become very popular at its current Cornelius home, and leaders hope moving to Huntersville will allow more seniors to take part in programs, which range from health and wellness training and education to knitting and sewing classes.

“We’ve always been for all seniors across the area,” Ahern said. “And we’ll continue that mission with this move.”

Want to help?

The North Mecklenburg Senior Center is asking for boxes to help pack up the community center’s things and move to their new location. Boxes can be dropped off at The River Church, 18731 West Catawba Ave., on Friday, Oct. 28. For more information contact Joanne Ahern at northmeckdirector@cmsseniorcenters.org or at 704-892-4041.