Spring opening slated for senior center

Spring opening slated for senior center

Eryn Dion
New Staff Writer

TEMPLETON — After seemingly endless delays, the opening of Templeton’s new senior center is finally in sight.

With the January goal now a pipe dream, the town’s Council on Aging is hopeful for a grand opening closer to early spring.

“We’ve got a lot of balls that we’re juggling and a lot of things are coming together at once,” said Senior Center Director Bethany Loveless. “In the end we’re getting a big, beautiful, multi-purpose building for a fraction of the cost.”


Since its inception, the project has been at the mercy of its budget. With the Senior Center Oversight Committee acting as its own contractor, the process of putting out bids has been a laborious one, officials said. The committee is required by law to seek bids for each individual piece of the project and wait for approval from both the committee and Board of Selectman.

While hiring a general contractor would have been the faster route, with only a $600,000 budget, the funds simply were missing. The decision was then made to create the oversight committee run the project directly in order to save money.

The new facility, located off Bridge Street, will be an upgrade from the center currently in use, with 10,000 square feet of space available. The upper level will feature a game room, art room, kitchen, offices, and a library.

The building will also house the food pantry on its lower level for the towns of Templeton and Phillipston, which is run by Templeton’s council on aging. The town’s current senior center on Patriots Road, is a mere 700 square feet and has no space for personal consultation or multiple functions.

In January 2011, Templeton approved a one-year, $500,000 debt exclusion to construct and equip donated modular buildings from Bristol-Myers Squibb in Devens for use as a new senior center. Construction at the site has been ongoing with the modular units placed on their foundations in July of last year.  Although the length of the project has undoubtedly left some frustrated, Ms. Loveless and members of the council remain unwaveringly optimistic.    

“It’s taken a long time,” Ms. Loveless said. “But the oversight committee should be proud of what they’ve accomplished here."