There’s something new opening in the Nittany Mall, but it’s not a store.
On September 1, the Centre Region Senior Center will move into a new home inside the mall, moving the center out of downtown State College for the first time in decades.
“I feel like this is great for us seniors, but also great for the mall,” says Lemont resident Betty Shields. “It’s been very convenient living so close to the mall, but I’ve seen traffic go down over the years. I hope this draws in more seniors, and I think it will.”
Nittany Mall General Manager Polly Welch says the partnership with the senior center is part of a larger goal of making the mall a thriving community center. She says the mall looks forward to hosting activities and providing an easily accessible, centrally located community space for the county’s senior citizens.
“For a lot of people, the senior center is the only outlet they have to interact with people their own age,” says Pat Sanders, a frequent visitor of the center. “There’s everything from line dancing, which is really intensive, to people who just like to sit and play games. There’s something for everyone.”
The Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority and the Centre County Office of Aging, which jointly fund and run the senior center, announced last month that the center would be moving from its longtime home on Fraser Street.
The center was originally schedule to move out of the space in 2017 but the date was moved up when construction on the Fraser Center began across the street, which made access to the center more difficult for some seniors. Of the 18 different sites considered for the center, the Nittany Mall boasted the most amenities and the most convenient location.
“Accessibility is a big concern for us,” says parks and recreation program manager Niki Tourscher. “We want this center to be available for all our seniors, and this space accomplishes that goal.”
JR Reed with the county office of aging says the senior center will move into a temporary space in the mall for about four months. During that time, renovations will be made to a larger space only a few storefronts down that will become the center’s permanent home. in the meantime, county staffers will be gathering input from seniors to learn what they want to see in the new space.
Senior center client Joan Knepp knows exactly what she wants to see: new friends.
“I’d like to see more people join us,” Knepp says. “We have a lot of fun.”
