'Things have come together well' at MAPS 3 eastside senior center, set to open September

The sounds of construction echoed inside the nearly finished senior health and wellness center on Oklahoma City's east side.

About two miles to the northeast, about 100 seniors spend daily time at the YMCA Lincoln Park Senior Center, participating in dance classes, arts and crafts, bingo and other programs. That center will close later this year — in expectation of members transferring to the new and much bigger building at NE 36 and Lincoln — after being operated by the YMCA in Oklahoma City's Lincoln Park recreation building since 1986.

Crews are building out the interior of what will be the MAPS 3 Senior Health and Wellness Center #3, where most floors and walls are still waiting to be painted or have material put down. The east side's new haven for those 50 and up is set to open this September, after a long construction process and a last-minute search for a new operator.

"It's been real slow, I'm not going to lie to you there," said Jim Sheppard, the senior project manager for the new center. "It's because of the pandemic, because of labor shortages, material shortages, it's because of pricing. The contractor here has had several guys who have just said, 'I will not honor my bid.'"

The center's total cost, funded by the MAPS 3 penny sales tax approved by voters in 2009, will come out to more than $12 million. It is expected to serve thousands of seniors in Oklahoma City's northeast neighborhoods, as well as possibly attracting residents in neighborhoods like Edgemere and Crown Heights, Sheppard said.

"We're looking forward to having more opportunities and doing more things," said Carrie Roberson, 81, who has been attending Lincoln Senior Center since the early 2000s with her sisters, 85-year-old twins Veola Ramsey and Viola Doss.

Eastside senior center set to open in September despite loss of operator

Though the center has long been planned for, a slight hiccup will mean a roughly month-long delay in opening this year.

Langston University, Oklahoma's only historically Black college or university, had agreed in 2018 to be the main operator of the center while partnering with the YMCA.

But after being gifted the former News 9 studio and building by Griffin Media, Langston President Kent J. Smith Jr. said the school had to tell the city they could no longer fulfill that commitment.

More: Langston U. proposes deal with Oklahoma City to run MAPS 3 senior health and wellness center

"I just felt like financially we could not fiscally be responsible for both projects, and do them both in a successful way, and still maintain the financial integrity of the university," Smith said.

The city is accepting proposals from potential operators until May 10. Christin King, vice president of communications for Oklahoma City's YMCA, said the organization is preparing a proposal submission.

Smith said Langston is still excited for the center and hopes to be able to bring nursing and physical therapy students for the health clinic, if the new operator is in agreement. Langston's OKC campus is just a few miles away at N Martin Luther King Avenue and NE 63.

What the seniors who will benefit are saying

The question of how they would fill their time if it weren't for the Lincoln senior center made the trio of sisters — Roberson, Ramsey and Doss — chuckle. It's a place that "means a lot" to them, Doss said, where they can get exercise, learn new skills and meet new people.

The sisters said they have no hesitation in moving to the MAPS 3 center once it opens, ready for a new building with more space.

Mentoria Mitchell, 73, has been coming to Lincoln center since 2017, when she got involved with the Older and Bolder dance group. While that group has technically disbanded, many of the dancers, including Mitchell, are now part of the CommUNITY Line Dancers, practicing their dances at the senior center and performing in places like the Oklahoma State Fair.

"We just have a fun time up here," Mitchell said. She is excited for the new center to open and said she hopes the "energy" that has been cultivated at Lincoln will transfer.

The new senior center shares a parking lot with the new Homeland grocery store, a purposeful connection to solve two community needs, Zenephon Warrior, 72, said.

Though the land had never been fully utilized, Warrior said it's one that gets seen by a lot of people, making it accessible and a great location to drive membership. Warrior said he's not a member of the Lincoln center but does plan on joining the new one.

"There are quite a number of people, more and more every year, that are over 50," Warrior said. "So it's a kind of a nice place for that particular age group to go ahead and have interactions and do various types of activities together."

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Amenities abound at upcoming eastside senior center

One of the most exciting aspects of the new center is the sheer increase in space for classes and programs, Freeta Jones-Porter said. Jones-Porter has been a member of the Lincoln center for nearly a decade, and said for many members it's "like our second home."

Jones-Porter teaches the "Silver Sneakers," an exercise class for those who get around in chairs, substitute teaches for other classes and helps plan a monthly program for the entire group to be part of. Jones-Porter said she loves to work with everyone to put things together and looks forward to continuing this at NE 36 and Lincoln.

The amenities will far exceed what the seniors are enjoying at Lincoln right now. They include:

• an indoor saltwater pool

• an herb garden

• a multipurpose dining and event room

• an arts and craft room with plenty of areas to showcase completed projects

• a full-size gymnasium for basketball and pickleball

• free weights and exercise equipment

• a walking track overlooking the gym

• a demonstration kitchen

• rooms for a variety of classes and activities

"They're all excited," Sheppard said of the community members he's talked with. "They just want to know when it's going to be ready."

City is incorporating lessons learned in design, building

While the center's amenities line up with those found at the two already-opened senior health and wellness centers, Sheppard said he feels it will be "the nicest one" in terms of design quality.

"Things have just come together well," he said.

After building centers one and two and seeing them in operation, Sheppard said the city has learned from its mistakes and is incorporating those lessons in designing and building the new center.

One example is storing chemicals separate from the pool mechanics, as well as using hardware and materials in the pool area that will not rust or corrode.

"This ceiling in here, this is 100% non-corrosive," Sheppard said. "So it's not going to ever rust, not going to ever corrode. We spent money to make sure that we got that kind of product in here."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's eastside senior center nearly finished, will open in September