MERIDIAN TWP. — Township officials are assessing the cost to build or re-purpose an existing building as a multi-generational community center. They have a state grant in hand but are facing a deadline.
The facility also would serve as a senior center, replacing the 9,529-square-foot space the Meridian Senior Center has occupied inside the east wing of Chippewa Middle School since 1995. The Okemos Public Schools building is slated to be torn down in the next four to six years, township Manager Frank Walsh said.
The school district’s plans for the building’s demolition prompted township officials to apply for a $5 million state grant to help pay for a new community senior center, Walsh said.
The money, approved in 2023, would cover some of the cost of establishing a center, but comes with a deadline, he said.
“We have to expend the funds by Sept. 30 of 2026, or the money goes back to the state,” Walsh said.
That makes 2024 the pivotal year for determining how much a community center would cost, potential properties for its location, and what amenities the center should offer senior citizens and other residents, officials said.