North Las Vegas senior center finishes $7M expansion, remains closed
The Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Center in North Las Vegas remains closed because of COVID-19, but people gathered outside Monday to celebrate its renovation, which more than doubled its size.
Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly and staff from the Department of Parks and Recreation hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the building, 2420 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., which added 7,600 square feet to the original 1998 facility at a cost of about $7 million.
The building was too small for its 400 members, Weekly said. He used to see members leave their homes early to get a seat at the center, and “those that didn’t make it on time would end up sitting in the hallway, or they would end up having to sit outside.”
The center has a larger cafeteria and multipurpose room with more tables and chairs that can be split into three sections for special events. The old multipurpose room was split into a conference room and TV and theater room. The kitchen more than doubled in size.
“This is a place for seniors to come, socially interact with their friends, go on field trips, play cards, play bingo, a place where you can come feel comfortable and being with those around you be with your friends,” said Daniel Hernandez, director of Parks and Recreation. “Senior centers like this also provide an opportunity to provide you information for health screenings, medical insurance, whatever it is we can do that help. So, senior centers like this are vastly important to the community, and there’s so many (people) here that are absolutely excited to get this place up and going.”
Member Sarah Cole, who has been at the center since 2017, recalled seeing directors come in and out and how they talked about expanding the center but not acting on it until (senior center) Director Byron Goynes took the seat and “things really began to blossom.”
“We, the seniors of MLK, thank you for the expansion,” Cole said. “You gave us more space and a gorgeous and immaculate new building. We dreamed of a new building, and now we have it. The task is accomplished, and the mission is complete.”
Staff members are awaiting a directive from the governor’s office on when they will be able to reopen the center.
Contact Jannelle Calderon at jcalderon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @NewsyJan on Twitter.
