Seniors’ group continues push for new community centre

A group of seniors in Moncton is working to secure funding for a new community centre.

Former Moncton Mayor Dennis Cochrane said he’s feeling positive about a new community centre for seniors’ proposal he delivered to city council Tuesday night.

“I felt good about it and the crowd that was there to support the presentation, seniors, also felt very optimistic when they left,” said Cochrane from his winter home in Estero, Fla.

The proposed centre is the 10,000 square-foot ground floor of the former Wawanesa Insurance building on St. George Boulevard.

Now vacant, it was recently purchased by Rising Tide, a not-for-profit organization that plans to turn the top two floors into 30 units of affordable housing for seniors.

Cochrane’s Project 1010 group is hoping the city will purchase the main floor from Rising Tide and pay for renovations.

“We’re looking at the city for $980,000 for the capital acquisition and renovation, then the furniture and then the ongoing operating budget,” said Cochrane, the committee chair of Project 1010.

A new facility would replace the Moncton Lions Community Centre on St. George Street, which was repurposed by the city in 2022 as a homeless shelter and resource hub after serving seniors for 50 years.

“We have no debate, no discussion, no concern. They made a decision with regard to providing services to the homeless, and that’s fine. All we had asked was we would like to make a proposal so that we can fill the void in the service to seniors that 473 St. George have been providing,” said Cochrane.

The plan is to create a space primarily for seniors that would offer programs, a computer lab, a library and a space for gatherings.

According to Project 1010, seniors make up one quarter on Moncton’s population so the need for a dedicated community space is definitely there.

Other groups in need of programming space, such as MAGMA and Moncton Cares, would also be welcome.

The former mayor fielded a lot of questions from current councillors during Tuesday night’s question period after his presentation.

“Do you need the 10-thousand square feet?” asked councillor Daniel Bourgeois. “Could you do what you’re supposed to do or what you want to do with say five-thousand square feet?”

Cochrane’s response, the proposed facility is actually a smaller space than what seniors had at the old Lions Centre.

On Wednesday, city councillor Charles Leger said Cochrane’s proposal was quite positive.

“It ticks off a lot of boxes,” said Leger. “It’s just a question of putting it all together.”

A city spokesperson said the proposal is being evaluated and will be discussed with council in March.

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