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By the numbers:
$1.5 Million— Cost for United Senior Services to purchase the former Eagles Lodge
$5.2 million — Estimated cost of renovations
4,700 — Estimated United Senior Services members in Clark County
If you go
What: United Senior Services Grand Opening, including tours, exhibits and demonstrations throughout the day.
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 1
Where: 125 W. Main St.
Note: United Senior Services will close Friday and re-open in the new center on Aug. 23. Home-based and outreach services will continue uninterrupted.
By the numbers:
$1.5 Million— Cost for United Senior Services to purchase the former Eagles Lodge
$5.2 million — Estimated cost of renovations
4,700 — Estimated United Senior Services members in Clark County
If you go
What: United Senior Services Grand Opening, including tours, exhibits and demonstrations throughout the day.
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 1
Where: 125 W. Main St.
Note: United Senior Services will close Friday and re-open in the new center on Aug. 23. Home-based and outreach services will continue uninterrupted.
An organization that provides services to thousands of Clark County residents is on the verge of moving into a revamped, $6.7 million center in downtown Springfield, which local leaders said could spur further development.
United Senior Services, which has about 4,700 members, will close it doors at 101 S. Fountain Ave. on Friday to move to its new home at 125 W. Main St.
USS bought the property from the Eagles for about $1.5 million and spent about $5.2 million on a massive face-lift. It will allow the agency to roughly double the size of its center as the area’s senior population steadily grows.
The renovated facility also keeps the organization’s services in downtown, and adds to a recent string of significant investments in the area, said Maureen Fagans, United Senior Services executive director.
“Being downtown, we’re centrally located and people didn’t want to lost that,” Fagans said.
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The project has been in the works for more than 16 years after board members recognized the agency will see a spike in demand in the coming years. The agency serves adults age 55 and older and provides a variety of programs, including fitness and recreational activities, transportation services and Meals on Wheels.
In 2000, about 15 percent of Clark County’s residents were older than 65, according to U.S. Census data. But by 2035, as much as 40 percent of Clark County’s residents will likely be eligible for the agency’s programs, Fagans said.
The new building is expected to open Aug. 23. Home-based and outreach services, such as Meals on Wheels, will continue uninterrupted during the closure and move. A grand opening, including tours and demonstrations, will be held Sept. 1.
The agency had outgrown its Fountain Avenue home, Fagans said.
The move will allow the agency to bring its staff under one roof. Along with the Pitzer Center on Fountain Avenue, the agency also has several employees located at the CARE annex at 50 W. Main St. In all, the agency has about 100 employees, including many who work as drivers or home health aides.
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Among the amenities, the new property will offer a fitness center, multipurpose rooms, a warm therapy pool and a full commercial kitchen, which Fagans said will allow for better food storage and preparation for Meals on Wheels.
Windows and a large skylight were added throughout the renovation to allow natural light to filter in.
One of the meeting rooms incorporates several artifacts from the former Memorial Hall that stood at Main Street and Lowry Avenue from 1916 until its demolition in 2010. Stained glass panels line the ceiling, and the wooden ticket booth from Memorial Hall highlights the front of the room.
“Everybody is anxious to host whatever class or event they’re involved in in this room,” Fagans said.
Crews saved the dance floor from the former Eagles building, and it now serves as a floor for one of the multipurpose rooms that will host programs like yoga and hula classes. She credited workers from the Bellefontaine-based Thomas and Marker Construction company for preserving the historic pieces that now highlight the facility.
The project will also be an important piece to improve downtown Springfield and build confidence for future projects, Assistant City Manager Tom Franzen said. In the past several years, downtown has seen a new hospital, an ice arena, apartments, a brewery and businesses along Fountain Avenue.
“We see it as very positive and continuing the momentum of investment downtown,” Franzen said.
The city plans to solicit proposals for the USS building on Fountain Avenue — also known as the Myers Market building — once it becomes available, he said.
“The goal for us is to find a use that attracts additional folks downtown and would add value to those that have already made investments downtown,” Franzen said.
Several seniors who play billiards every day at the Pitzer Center said they’re ready for the move. Joel Vance is a former member of the Eagles, so he said he’s looking forward to seeing how the space has changed.
Ricardo Powers joined the organization a little more than three years ago and said without United Senior Services, there aren’t a lot of entertainment options for older residents in Springfield.
“It’s going to be bigger, a little more glamorous and have more programs,” Powers said of the new site.
But he’s also hopes the new venue draw new members.
“Hopefully some women my age will be showing up,” he joked.
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