New Senior Center Fills Void in Youngstown Community

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – More than five years ago, Shelia Triplett realized that addressing the needs of the community’s expanding senior population required an innovative solution.

“Our senior program just kept growing,” said Triplett, executive director of Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership. “We have over 500 seniors that we touch in some way every month.”

However, the organization’s offices along Fifth Avenue simply didn’t have the capacity to host events, meetings or efficiently provide social services to accommodate this older population.

“We just saw the need for a place for seniors where they could relax and get services such as transportation and wellness programming,” she said.

The answer was either to construct a new facility or renovate an existing building that would serve as a separate social and service center dedicated solely to seniors, Triplett said.

Five years later, Triplett’s vision is now a reality, as contractors are putting the finishing touches on MYCAP’s new 5,800-square-foot senior center at 64 Ridge Road, just south of the city’s downtown. The center – a renovation of the former Meridian HealthCare building – will serve as a dedicated single location to provide services to the county’s seniors, she said.

“They’re able to have all those services under one roof,” Triplett said. “It’s basically a senior center, social wellness program.”

Triplett engaged Olsavsky-Jaminet Architects, Youngstown, from the beginning to scout for a site and design the new space. “We thought about building a new building, but when we walked through this site, this building was just in great shape,” said Ray Jaminet Jr., vice president of Olsavsky-Jaminet. “It was a diamond in the rough.”

Among the amenities of the center is a new kitchen, an open common room, a lounge area with chairs and sofas and a newly landscaped patio, Triplett noted. The basement level contains offices for MYCAP staff, as well as rooms where seniors can receive private counseling or wellness checks. A small emergency supply pantry will also occupy a space in the basement.

The kitchen, for example, would be used to prepare meals as part of MYCAP’s culinary program, Triplett said. “We do virtual cooking classes,” she added. The chef can use the new kitchen to cook a variety of dishes that are relayed in real time by video to those enrolled in the program.

Eventually, Triplett said she would like to see a commercial kitchen added to the new center.

A newly renovated outdoor area that was once overgrown with weeds and littered with broken asphalt is now adorned with a beautiful pergola, outdoor furniture and paver stones.

“This was a disaster,” Jaminent said.

The open community room is designed to hold approximately 100 and would host informational programs, speakers and other events, Triplett added. Other offerings include exercise classes, book clubs and arts and crafts programs.

In 2023, the Western Reserve Port Authority, in partnership with the city of Youngstown, acquired the building after it became vacant. The port authority then transferred the property to MYCAP earlier this year.  

To date, Triplett estimates $400,000 has gone into renovating the building. She anticipates the center should be fully operational by the end of 2024.  

However, the organization said it’s still working with its partners about transferring programs to the new location, which may not be completed until the beginning of next year. “We’ll at least try to get some programming by the holidays,” she said.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the center is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 26. The inspections are finished, and the center is approved for occupancy, Jaminet said.

Triplett said the center is not open to the public but to those seniors who are registered with MYCAP. The center is slated to be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Six MYCAP staff members will manage the new site.

The project was funded through MYCAP funding, American Rescue Plan dollars from the city, plus another $250,000 donation from the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Triplett said. The city has committed another $150,000 to replace windows, the furnace and air-conditioning.

“We’re also thinking about adding a generator so we can have the building up and running in case people’s power goes out – we’ll be up all the time,” Jaminet added.

Jim Santini Builder Inc. served as the general contractor on the project, he said.

Several weeks ago, the center hosted a soft opening and previewed the new center to Sisters of the Humility of Mary and a core group of seniors. “They just loved it. They were totally amazed,” she said.

Pictured at top: Ray Jaminet and Shelia Triplett.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.