The Daily Journal
December 28, 2018
By Anna Schuessler, Daily Journal staff
Resident input sought for facility redesign
In an effort to revamp long-standing recreational facilities in Redwood City, officials are hoping residents will weigh in on the design of two new buildings expected to hold a new YMCA facility and senior center in Red Morton Park.
After months of scoping how aging facilities at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center at 1455 Madison Ave. and the Sequoia YMCA at 1445 Hudson St. could better serve their patrons, Chris Beth, the city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department director, said the plans for the two buildings are set to take a big step forward through three community workshops slated for January and February.
Built in 1954 and 1956, the Sequoia YMCA and senior center facilities have been serving nearly 3,000 seniors registered for programs and services throughout the year and more than 800 youth in sports teams, respectively, according to city and YMCA records.
By replacing five facilities at Red Morton Park as well as existing facilities at the Sequoia YMCA in Palm Park when complete, the project is aimed at bringing multi-generational programming currently offered at separate sites together in the same park. Beth said formalizing a partnership with the YMCA of Silicon Valley last year to upgrade and redesign the facilities marked the beginning of a new model for city recreation, in which the city and the nonprofit’s resources are leveraged toward improving recreation in the city.
“We’re really trying to be a community for all ages,” he said. “This really exemplifies that value for the city.”
Beth said several conversations with community members in recent months have keyed officials into a shared desire to completely redesign the facilities and preserve as much green space in the park just south of Jefferson Avenue and north of Roosevelt Avenue as possible. He said keeping parking and building massing within the footprint of the existing buildings — which include the existing Veterans Memorial Senior Center, Herkner Memorial Pool, the NFL Alumni Building, an administrative building and a wellness center — could help manage the flow of traffic in the neighborhoods surrounding the park.
But the look and feel of the buildings, what materials are used to build them and how much space they take up in the park are questions officials and the architect selected for the project are hoping residents will answer, said Beth.
By handing operation of new pool facilities over to the YMCA and managing new gym, theater and kitchen facilities, among other resources, at a new senior center, Beth said the partnership would allow the city to continue offering free or low-cost programs to seniors. He added that a new YMCA facility including a health and wellness center, two pools, child care and several multi-purpose rooms in close proximity to the new senior center would allow families to efficiently access resources in both buildings.
“We’re looking at the most economical way to approach it,” he said.
For Julie Wesolek, executive director of the Sequoia YMCA, redesigning a new facility to allow for several programs to operate simultaneously will be a boon for the nonprofit, which has seen increasing demand for multi-generational programming. She noted a family could come to the new facilities together, participate in programs specific to their needs and then leave together, an opportunity the nonprofit is limited in offering within the existing Sequoia YMCA.
“This facility with its freshness and modernness will just allow us to take the next chapter step in our 92-year-history in Redwood City,” she said.
Beth said the city and the nonprofit are hoping to come before the City Council with a conceptual design of the new facilities in March and return in the summer of 2018 with more plan details. If approved, he said an effort to draw building plans could take a year. Though he said some $10 million from the city’s park impact fee has been allocated for the project, more funds would likely need to be raised to fully support the new senior center, with the YMCA footing the bill for the facilities it manages.
Sandy Walker, president and CEO of the YMCA of Silicon Valley said her team has been finalizing a fundraising goal for a project set to enrich the lives of the children and older adults who will eventually use the campus.
“I think it’s going to be such a vital campus,” she said. “It’s just good for the community to come together.”
Open-house-style workshops will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 17, Jan. 31 and Feb. 22 at the Redwood Room of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center, 1455 Madison Ave. Email [email protected] to submit feedback or inquiries.
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https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/plans-for-new-senior-center-and-ymca-take-shape-in/article_6eee0ce2-eb8e-11e7-95a8-8b192148e7da.html