Horizons pursuing $2.5 million senior center in Cedar Rapids building

CEDAR RAPIDS — Horizons is pursuing plans to renovate a portion of the nonprofit’s building into a $2.5 million senior center, a facility the community has long desired since the 2008 flood damaged the Witwer Senior Center and left Cedar Rapids with a void of programming for older adults.

The nonprofit on Monday shared plans to renovate an 8,000 square-foot portion of its existing building at 819 Fifth St. SE into a senior center where adults ages 55 and older in Linn County can gather.

The “Our Place” facility will offer a variety of programming that improves seniors’ social, financial and physical health, addressing the social isolation facing older Iowans that has persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Horizons has room in its building because Covenant Family Solutions is moving out from a space that it leased, said Mike Barnhart, president and chief executive officer of Horizons.

Construction on the senior center is slated to start next spring. The renovation is expected to be complete by September 2025.

What would the facility offer?

Barnhart said Horizons staff looked around the U.S. and the senior centers in Iowa City and Davenport to explore what programming could exist in Cedar Rapids.

Concept plans show the space would include two activity rooms, a fitness studio, multipurpose area and a cafe. Walls will be removed to open up space, making it more accessible, user friendly, bright and welcoming, said Barnhart and special projects lead Paula Land.

The center would offer programming that’s popular in other facilities such as Tai Chi and chair yoga, Barnhart said. It also would offer art classes and language and educational programming involving community speakers five days a week.

That could include hot-topic discussion groups, movies, hobby clubs, classes and day trips; nutritional lunch, fitness classes, health screenings and vaccine clinics; and financial seminars, one-on-one planning, VITA tax services, budgeting and workshops.

Barnhart said Horizons will hire additional staff and make its own department devoted to the center.

The Linn County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved using $200,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the center's development, covering detailed architectural drawings, initial construction costs and program development.

To fill the remaining funding gap, Land said Horizons is looking for grants and likely launching a capital campaign to raise money. An unnamed donor provided lead support.

“This funding will be key to show the county’s support in this project as we go out and talk to donors,” Land said.

Revenue would come from other grant sources and private fundraising, as well as service revenue from memberships, activity fees, space rentals and food and beverage sales.

The city of Cedar Rapids also may contribute to the project.

“Horizons has brought the project to our attention and we will continue to meet with them to determine what level of contribution may be appropriate and for how long,” Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said in a statement. “Any decision would be thoroughly reviewed by City Council.”

Will this impact Cedar Rapids’ plans?

Cedar Rapids city officials have been planning for an intergenerational center and sports recreation complex including senior programming, offering space for older adults and youth alike. It was among the action items recommended in the city of Cedar Rapids’ Age-Friendly Action Plan. The Cedar Rapids City Council adopted it in 2022.

The city’s Northwest Recreation Center, 1340 11th St. NW, offers some programming, but it’s often busy and there’s insufficient space to expand offerings.

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The plan was created as a guide to help Cedar Rapids grapple with demographic shifts while making the community more livable. The number of Americans ages 65 and older will more than double in the next 40 years, reaching 80 million in 2040.

The city in December unveiled a feasibility study done by CSL International that presented two options for a dual-use, intergenerational facility to be built at an undisclosed location. The study looked at the community and market to see whether a facility would make sense in Cedar Rapids, but wasn’t a final determination on whether the facility will be built.

Both options would create an indoor sports facility with indoor hardwood courts and at least one indoor turf field.

A $48.8 million, approximately 125,000 square-foot facility would offer those amenities without a pool. The other option — an approximately 160,000 square-foot facility for $65.5 million — would include space for all of those amenities, plus one more turf field, an aquatic center and a sauna.

Other amenities that could be included in both options include locker rooms, party rooms, scoreboards, bleachers, athletic gear, a walking track, gathering space, a food court, climbing/game areas and a performance/training center.

A senior center emerged as the most favored amenity among mature demographics in a survey CSL used in drafting the study. It ranked among the top three preferences of 56.6 percent of adults over age 55 and 67.9 percent of adults over 75 showed a similar preference. The survey received 2,750 responses.

Horizons’ senior center doesn’t impact Cedar Rapids’ plans for such a facility, city officials said.

“The City remains committed to the Age-Friendly Action Plan and our work to fill the gap for seniors through a dedicated, dual-use, intergenerational center and sports complex,” Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said in a statement. “While we work on this long-term project, it is encouraging to see nonprofits like Horizons stepping up to fill identified community needs. These kinds of partnerships are what Cedar Rapids does best.”

Horizons’ senior center could provide items such as the walking track and more intensive fitness equipment through a partnership with the YMCA, Barnhart said.

City officials have indicated it would still take approximately 10 years to secure funds for a multimillion-dollar intergenerational center. But Barnhart said the city’s own survey showed strong demand now for a senior center.

“When that came out about the intergenerational center being so far away, that seemed like such a long time for older adults to wait,” Barnhart said.

Horizons did a survey of about 200 people that came back favorable to a senior center. It asked for feedback on proposed amenities, the likelihood of visiting the center, the user’s primary mode of transportation and what barriers would exist to accessing the facility regularly.

The nonprofit is contracting with Cedar Rapids-based de Novo Marketing and has received more than 400 responses so far to a survey that will be used to refine its senior center plans.

“The thing we continue to hear is that there is no argument that there is a need in the community,” Land said.

Making community ‘welcoming’ for all ages

Supervisor Ben Rogers said the Cedar Rapids area has seen an increase in amenities geared toward attracting and retaining young professionals, but fewer to address aging adults.

“This will go a long way to make this community welcoming for all,” Rogers said.

Supervisor Chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt said the community has worked since the flood to keep the dream alive for a senior center.

“The social isolation was magnified even worse by COVID, and part of us getting out of that mindset, I believe, and moving forward with the kind of quality of life we want for our seniors in our community — this is really part of that,” Running-Marquardt said.

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