Home at last

Story by Chris Graham

Lynn DiBiase has been planning for an eventual move into a permanent home for the Staunton Senior Center for what seems like forever.

“We’ve been talking about this for five years. To now be talking about floor colors, about where the ceiling fans and plugins are going to go, that makes it seem real,” said DiBiase, the executive director of the Senior Center, of the move to Gypsy Hill Place on Churchville Avenue that is in the works for next spring. 

The $20.4 million renovation of the old R.E. Lee High School includes a 4,800-square-foot dedicated space for the Senior Center, more than doubling what the Center has right now around back at Third Presbyterian Church on Barterbrook Road.

The Staunton Senior Center has been on the go a bit the past few years, settling in at Third Pres after a long run at Memorial Baptist Church over on the other side of town. All along, the city and the Valley Program for Aging Services were on the lookout for something more permanent, first studying the possibility of renovating the Booker T. Washington Community Center, then partnering with the Staunton-Augusta YMCA on another colocation study before Octagon Partners, the Charlottesville-based development group leading the adaptive-reuse project at Gypsy Hill Place, called to express interest in teaming up with the city and VPAS.

“The atmosphere there will be so different,” DiBiase said. “Right now, we’re in a fellowship hall at the church, and when people come here, they’re coming to the church and its fellowship hall, you know? When we move, and when people come in, they’ll be coming into the Senior Center.”

“We have to put everything away every Friday so the church can use it on the weekend,” said Senior Center member Pat Doyle, a weekday regular at Third Presbyterian who “can’t wait” for the move across town.

“The new place will be a dedicated space. It’s home. It’s the difference between renting and owning,” Doyle said.

DiBiase, for her part, hopes the new digs will not only help expand program offerings but also the Center’s member base.

“Our seniors are going to feel more ownership of the Senior Center when it’s a Senior Center,” DiBiase said.

 

Help them open the doors
The Staunton Senior Center is trying to raise $50,000 to go toward the purchase of new tables, chairs, bookshelves, exercise and recreational equipment and kitchen accessories to outfit its new home at Gypsy Hill Place.

To contribute to the campaign:
Opening Doors Campaign
1313 Barterbrook Rd.
Staunton, VA 24401