WAKE FOREST, N.C.-- The Wake Forest Board of Commissioners is looking into expanding the town's Northern Wake Senior Center. The center offers free programs and activities for anyone in the area aged 55 and over.

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At the September board meeting, commissioners agreed to hire an architect to find the feasibility of adding on to the existing building. The building is owned by the town, and the non-profit group Resources for Seniors facilitates its programs.

 

Program Coordinator Carol Bessette Battle says the center is feeling the strain of limited space and increased demand for services.

 

"We're really on top of each other. The rooms switch out, we flip tables, switch things," she said. "We hold some our activities in the lobby when we have to."

 

The facility has no meeting rooms that can be used during regularly scheduled activities. Those activities often have to be cancelled when there are special events.

 

A group of members and the Senior Center Advisory board created the Expansion Subcommittee to research the current use of the building and how population growth will impact the demand for programs.

 

The study found the center's current membership is about a thousand people, with 150 to 300 members coming in each day.

 

By the year 2010, the committee expects there will be at least 1,500 members. They estimate about 2,200 by 2020.

 

Committee member Mary White says the center is worth expanding, because seniors are worth it.

 

"There are a lot of seniors in Wake Forest, and more and more are coming in every day," White said. "It gives us a place to go and purpose for getting up." 

 

The report calls for a significant expansion by 2010.