EASTHAMPTON — The city is about to take another step toward making a new senior center a reality with the formation of an appointed Senior Center Building Committee.

The Ad Hoc Senior Center Building Committee — formed in November 2023 — completed its yearlong efforts of visioning, community outreach and research in January, filing a 33-page report, obtained by the Gazette, which is expected to be published to the public in the coming weeks.

The report outlines recommendations for a new senior center, input on the successes and challenges of senior centers in surrounding communities, and five potential sites for a new senior center. Its filing and imminent publication mean that the city can embark on the next phase of planning: the creation of an official appointed building committee which will put out a request for proposals for contractors to conduct feasibility studies on the potential sites for the new center, as well as possible designs.

According to Easthampton Council on Aging Director Cynthia Tarail, Mayor Nicole LaChapelle’s office will put out a notice for applications by the end of the month for people who want to be a part of the building committee. The application will be available on the city website.

“For several years, there have been discussions in various city governance groups about the deficiencies of the current Easthampton senior center,” the report reads. “The center has a history of being placed in various locations without much planning about the space’s suitability for residents 55 and older.”

But the ad hoc committee has taken its opportunity to make recommendations based on community feedback and research surrounding programming, transportation, accessibility and more improvements that can be implemented with a new senior center.

Tarail explained that the ad hoc committee aimed its focus toward community focus groups, learning from other senior centers and pervious feasibility studies, and coming up with recommendations for the future center. This process included research conducted by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, which involved interviews with comparable communities throughout the state and focus groups in Easthampton to learn about the needs of older residents.

The committee has already done much of the work that would go into a request for proposals process, Tarail said, so the building committee “would be able to hit the ground running.”

The 55-plus demographic is a growing one in Easthampton. According to data from the UMass Donahue Institute, included in a 2018 UMass Boston Gerontology Institute study of Easthampton’s older populations, “by 2025, roughly one-third of Easthampton residents are expected to be age 60 and older, and by 2035, seniors are expected to represent 36-39% of the population.”

But as outlined in the ad hoc committee’s report, a 2022 feasibility study of the city’s current senior center at 19 Union St. found it rife with deficiencies that limit its ability to serve those populations, and likely can’t be fully addressed even by costly renovations.

For example, Tarail said parking is an issue at the current senior center that the city hopes to address with the new center by selecting a site that can accommodate 150 to 200 parking spaces.

“We currently have eight parking spaces in a municipal lot that is accessible to all,” she explained.

Following a review of that 2022 study, the Easthampton Council on Aging voted to spend money on the current building only to maintain current functions, and recommended that the city invest in planning for a new center.

The ad hoc committee has already narrowed down the search for potential locations for the new senior center to these spots: city-owned parcels at Highland Avenue, 226 Park St., 154 Holyoke St. and Daley Field, and a privately-owned property at 392 Main St. In the committee report, each property has an outlined list of pros and cons, including proximity to transportation and housing.

Accessibility, both in regards to transportation and for those with various impairments and disabilities, were a major topic of conversation surrounding the senior center on the ad hoc committee, according to Tarail.

Other recommendations included in the committee’s report include public outreach to ensure community members understand the need for the new center and to attract more people to the center, as well as planning for “ample staffing levels and appropriate positions to adequately serve residents.”

The committee recommends that a new center include spaces for small independent activities like crafts, large exercise classes, regular opportunities to share meals, community events, respite space, capacity for virtual participation and more.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.