OCEANSIDE: City celebrates opening of El Corazon Senior Center
OCEANSIDE —- Hundreds of people packed Oceanside’s new El Corazon Senior Center on Saturday evening to celebrate the 15,000-square-foot, $10 million facility’s opening.
“The turn-out is awesome,” said deputy city manager Michelle Lawrence. “This is the culmination of years of planning.”
“I’ve lived here 57 years, and I just told the mayor that if this what our taxes are going for it’s a wonderful thing,” said Esther Newman of Oceanside. “It’s so beautiful, and we’re close to it.’
The center is the first project completed in the master plan for the 450-acre El Corazon property, a former sand mine given to the city in 1994.
City officials have said they are happy to report the building came in on time and on budget. It is expected to draw more seniors than the city’s downtown center because of its more central location.
“I’ve only been to the older one maybe once or twice,” said 79-year-old Rose Wehling of the original center on Country Club Lane near Interstate 5. “It’s too far away, and I don’t like the neighborhood.”
“It’s the darndest place to get to, so I hardly ever go,” said Ann Halbrook, 80, of Oceanside.
Oceanside recreation supervisor Maureen Fleming said that when the downtown senior center was built in 1980 most of the seniors lived near it, but now many of them have moved to the eastern side of town. She said she was excited to see a lot of new faces at the grand opening.
“The plan was approved four years ago, and here we are,” Fleming said. “It’s a dream come true.”
“Because of the economy, it’s taking an awful long time to get this whole El Corazon plan going,” said Mayor Jim Wood. “It’s great to be able to move ahead with at least this first cornerstone —- a little way to give back to what we call the greatest generation.”
The new facility has classrooms, a dining room, kitchen space, administrative offices, a fitness room, a lobby and reception area, and restrooms.
“Whatever you view as your lifestyle —- health and wellness, cultural arts, human development —- we have something for you,” said city senior management analyst Shannon Sellinger, who will be managing the center.
The center officially opens at 8 a.m. Monday. For now, it will only operate at about 20 percent of its capacity, according to Sellinger. Services and activities will be added bimonthly.
“We’re starting out with the programs that are the most popular at the other center and adding new ones as we receive input,” Sellinger said.
“We have a very active senior community in Oceanside,” said Lawrence, the deputy city manager. “We’ll be getting a lot of feedback and input, so seniors will have a great role in the direction the center takes.”
The U-shaped building was designed by San Diego architects Roesling Nakamura Terrada, Inc. in the renowned style of Irving Gill.
Officials plan to rent the center for weddings, anniversaries and other non-senior events.
