By TheChampionNewspaper.com
In 18 months, a property once used as dumping ground in the Stone Mountain area is expected to become DeKalb County District 4’s only community and senior center.
The 23-acre project is being constructed at 4885 Elam Road in Stone Mountain in District 4, which includes parts of Stone Mountain, Clarkston, Avondale Estates and Decatur.
“The ground we were standing on was previously used as a dumping ground…People would literally pull off of Elam Road to this area and throw their trash here,” said District 4 Commissioner Steve Bradshaw during the April 15 groundbreaking ceremony for center. “Now this site is set for a brand new facility that our citizens will be able to enjoy for years to come. I call that forward progress.”
Upon taking office nearly four years ago, Bradshaw recalls being presented a study on the distribution of senior centers throughout the county by DeKalb County Community Development Director Allen Mitchell
“District 4, my district, our district, was the only one that did not have one. Ever since that day I’ve been working to change that,” said Bradshaw, who was among many speakers during the event who thanked Mitchell, commissioners, county staff and the community for bringing the project to fruition.
Photos by Asia Ashley
The estimated $8 million community and senior center— designed by Wood Engineering and being constructed by Headley Construction— is planned to include 131 parking spaces initially, a multi-purpose room with a dining facility, large stage, multiple classrooms, billiard room, TVs, hotspot, a pedestrian plaza, a commercial kitchen and space for event rentals, and a congregate meal component for seniors.
Mitchell explained that the center will also entail trails that connect to adjoining property at Hairston Park and include 8,000 square feet of aquatics space. He noted that the facility will be open seven days a week for the entire community to use.
“It’s a community center first and then a senior center, which means that kids will be here on weekends, and when the seniors go home at 3 in the afternoon, this facility will be able to be used by others,” he said.
Super District 7 Commissioner Lorrain Cochran-Johnson, whose district includes District 4, recalled the quarreling among commissioners to fund a swimming pool for the center prior to her election in 2018 as many others centers around the county do not have the same amenity.
“I sat there thinking surely a good thing can’t cause this much conversation,” she said. “…A delay is not a denial. District 4 was the last district to have a senior center, but we now have a 24,000 square foot facility with a salt-water pool, state-of-the art amenities for which this community deserves.”
Cochran-Johnson said her district will fund a van for the community to use for transportation to and from the center.
Lou Walker Dance Troupe performed during the April 14 groundbreaking ceremony for the District 4 and 7 community and senior center.
Read the original story on TheChampionNewspaper.com.
