New senior center opens in Lithonia
DeKalb County officials recently celebrated the grand opening of a new senior center in Lithonia.
On July 14, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond was joined by Commissioners Mereda Davis Johnson and Lorraine Cochran Johnson, along with Lithonia Mayor Shameka Reynolds and other officials, to cut the ribbon on the new $6.5 million facility.
Work on the project began in August 2020. Officials said community input, especially from members of the former Bruce Street Senior Center, went into much of the design process for the 16,090-square-foot one-story building.
“Key components include a large multipurpose dining room with a moveable partition wall and stage, a large commercial kitchen, a lounge area, a TV room, a library room, a fitness room, two large classrooms, an arts and crafts room, multiple computer stations, a game room with billiards, offices, lockers, a sundeck, a large metal canopy and Lithonia granite used on the building’s front and lobby area,” stated officials.
At a groundbreaking ceremony in 2020, Davis Johnson said the county also acquired a bus for seniors’ transportation needs at the center.
Classes, group trips and community engagement activities will be open and available to senior citizens in the area.
The facility, located at 2449 Bruce St., sits on land that also is the site of the Old Lithonia School Ruins listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Arabia Mountain National Heritage Alliance is currently working with the county and community on a separate project to preserve and commemorate the Lithonia historic site, stated officials.
“In 2016, when I came to Bruce Street Senior Center, we dreamed together and declared that we would build a new home for our seniors here,” said Davis Johnson. “Today, that dream is manifested and brought to fruition. Seniors, enjoy your new center – you deserve it.”
For more information, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov/human-development/senior-services-1.
