Saratoga Springs Senior Center building larger location at YMCA

Saratoga Springs-area seniors will soon have a shiny new place to gather.

The senior center has outgrown its facility in downtown Saratoga Springs, so it’s building a new center connected to the YMCA.

There’s not much you can’t do at the senior center. Some offerings included pottery and chair yoga. Every day, there’s some sort of food offering. The center is the safety net for about 2,600 seniors in need of support, education, or companionship.

However, it’s bursting at the seams. Its executive director says the 7,500 square foot building on Williams Street can no longer meet the needs of its constituents.

There’s a remedy on the way. The senior center is going to build onto the YMCA on West Avenue. It’ll occupy 14,000 square feet of the YMCA’s planned 42,000 square foot addition.

There will be classrooms, activity and fitness rooms, and a café and community room. The second floor will be a new gym, fitness and play space for the YMCA.

The building of the senior center is being paid for with a donation from a well-known local family. The center will raise the money needed to outfit it.

The YMCA says collaboration with the senior center will allow them to better meet the needs of older members of the community.

"The Y’s really growing in this area, and we’re spatially challenged, so I think out of the pandemic if anything challenged us, it’s our members need more space, we need more space to solve the need. We’re happy that we sit on 25 acres here, and we can do something to help solve a real need for the community," said Scott Clark, the CEO of the Saratoga Regional YMCA.

Learn about how all of this could also help the Code Blue shelter in Saratoga Springs by watching the video of Mark Mulholland’s story.