Now’s the time to build.
That’s the word from township officials as they consider a proposal to partner with builder Mike Churach, who wants to put up a senior citizen complex near Clarkston Road and M-24.
The complex would include residential condominium housing for seniors, as well as a community center-type building, which could potentially replace the township’s current senior center.
‘Our senior center is somewhat old and somewhat creaky,? said Orion Township Supervisor Matthew Gibb. ‘It has substantial maintenance and utility costs’and it’s not getting any cheaper.?
Winter heating bills in the center, which is housed in the Union Church in downtown Lake Orion, are currently running $500-$800 per month, Gibb said. HVAC equipment is pulling itself from dry rot in floor structure, and rehabilitation, for both the Union Church and its use as a senior center, require nearly $1 million in work.
If it moves forward with the proposal, the township could obtain the new building near cost.
‘We have the opportunity to build a state-of-the-art, green community center that is focused on our senior population,? Gibb said, noting the building would allow extensive programming for seniors, a capacity the township does not currently have, and also serve as a place to host large community events.
Cost for construction of the 27,000 square-foot building is estimated at about $1.3 million, which the township says would come from the Eagle Valley Host Fee fund.
‘If we’re going to do it we might as well do it right,? Gibb said. ‘Do we need that much building? Realistically we do. The list is quite long, as far as the programming we could offer, to make it a community jewel.?
The partnership, Gibb said, has the potential to benefit both sides, allowing the builder, when approaching a lending institution, to point at the township as a resource.
Likewise, he pointed out, with the population of local seniors continuing to grow, the township could use more resources aimed at benefiting the older generation.
‘Our seniors aren’t going to be quick to leave; their homes aren’t going to sell very quickly and they certainly are not going to get the money out of the houses they were hoping for.?
And with the economy still languishing, builders and others in the construction industry are eager for work.
Now is the time, Gibb said, to take advantage of competitive pricing.
‘If we wait until five years from now and things start to recover, we’ll never have this opportunity again,? he said.
Community Programs Director Lisa Sokol said the township’s need for senior resources is increasing, and used her own family as an illustration.
‘My family had to move out of the community,? she said. ‘They lived their entire life here and they moved to a community just north of us because there wasn’t the kind of housing in this community they could move into. I deal with seniors all the time and I can’t tell you the number that are forced to move out of this community when they move out of their own personal home.?
When she began working for the township more than five years ago, Sokol said, some 150 seniors were ‘pretty much in a private club? at the senior center.
‘We’re well over a thousand people participating now,? she said. ‘And I think that can greatly expand.?
In its current home, the senior center is limited to one room for arts, crafts and ceramics, one room that serves as an offshoot of the library, and a dining room.
‘It’s very limited,? Sokol said. ‘We’re not looking at a Taj Mahal, but to build toward the future to provide leisure programming, enrichment programming, and health and wellness programming.?
Some suggested allowing other community groups to occupy part of the space, currently envisioned as a three-story building, with 9,000 square feet per floor.
According to Trustee JoAnn Van Tassel, the cable commission and ONTV have long looked for a larger space to occupy, especially if they could build in conjunction with another facility.
‘This has been a subject discussed and discussed and discussed,? said Van Tassel, who currently sits on the cable commission. ‘This fits in with what they had in mind when they talked about going to the library a few years ago.?
Treasurer Alice Young said she didn’t care for the idea of allowing other groups in.
‘I would envision the seniors being pushed out little by little by little,? she said. That’s what happens when you start opening it up to other groups.?
Trustee Neal Porter said he felt a 30,000-square-foot building, at a cost of $1.3 million’about $45 per square foot’seemed ‘very doable.?
But, Porter said, he had doubts about the project for other reasons.
‘I have serious reservations on operational funds,? he said. ‘I remember when Pontiac General Hospital did a huge addition, got it completely finished and had no money to operate it. It just sat there for a couple of years, a brand new building, totally vacant, with no operating funds.?
Gibb said he worked out numbers for upkeep of a new building.
‘For less than $40,000 we can get all of the interior and exterior maintenance done,? he said. ‘But where does it come from, and what are we going to do with out existing facility? If we don’t use it as a senior center it reverts to the village. If it reverts to the village, we have an issue of prior Community Development Block Grant Funds.?
The government, he said, could ask that the CDGB funds be paid back.
‘We would never let that happen,? Gibb said, noting the facility could still be used as a senior-center annex, for example, for a for a Meals-on-Wheels program, or to be used as a larger space for the Orion Art Center.
Gibb said construction on the building could begin next year, but the board’s only action was to authorize further investigation into the funding of operational costs.