We are building a new Center for all Seniors of Oceana County! Our new property is on 4250 Tyler Road, Hart Township. With the OCCOA Board permission, and the Hart Township Board permission, that property was purchased in the summer of 2017. Our new building theme will come from the local farms and history of Oceana County, with the idea of a post and beam structure that mimics the warmth and inviting charm of an old family barn. This new Senior Center is for everyone – whether they are already Seniors, or the “future” Seniors. The Building is being planned for current needs, and into the future.
Building Progress
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- August 16, 2018: Groundbreaking Day
- September 17, 2018: First digging
- October 8, 2018: First poles are going up
- November 20, 2018: We now have a roof
- January 5, 2019: You can spot some red on the field. We have siding now!
- February 9, 2019: The concrete is poured
- March 1, 2019: We have power!
- April 29, 2019: Thanks to your generous donations, our new fireplace is in!
- June 28, 2019: Continuing the work on the inside of our building
- August 5, 2019: Most of the drywall is already in on the office part of the building
- September 7, 2019: Our center is surrounded by blacktop - lot's of parking spaces
- October 30, 2019: Reusing parts of the donated barn wood around the activity rooms
- November 20, 2019: The interior is being worked on...
- December 13, 2019: We are moving. The center will be open for the public on Monday!
Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
We hear a lot of questions regarding this new Building every day. This is our attempt to answer the most common ones. If you have a different question, don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to answer your questions!
Here are just some reasons why we really need more space:
- Our current dining area doesn't fit more than 84 people at the same time, however the demand for our Lunches is way higher often times.
- It is pretty much impossible to serve up to 100 meals (including Seniors, Volunteers, Staff, Adult Day Care, Takeouts etc.) out of our small 10’ x 10’ kitchen.
- Our dining area also serves as space for Board Games, Bingo, Fitness Programs, Movie Viewings and many more activities. This doesn't allow to host multiple programs at the same time, and sometimes prohibits programs to happen at all (tables have to prepared hours before Lunch etc).
- Our Meeting Room is also beeing used as a Clinic Room and Game Room. This does not allow proper use of this room for any of the intended purposes.
- We don't have enough offices for our staff
- There is not enough room for storage
When we first had the idea of expanding seven years ago, the idea was to expand our current building. Our main issue is that there just isn’t enough space available for our needed parking. We did try several times to purchase additional property around us, but without success.
After that we did look at several pieces of property – one especially that was quite a bit closer to the center of Oceana County. Once we investigated it further, we found it had several building and safety issues that would not work for a senior center. We looked on, and finally found our new property on Tyler Road, approximately ¼ mile west of 72nd Avenue.
Our new address will be 4250 Tyler Road, Hart Township, MI. You can spot the new building from the road already!
The currently owned building on 621 East Main Street will be converted into an adult day care center where "Our Friends House", our adult day care, currently located on Washington St., will find a new home. As "Our Friends House" is renting their current building, this will not only decrease operating costs, but will also allow for more programs and space for our Adult Day Care.
You may not currently need services, but you may have a family member, friend or neighbor who does, or will soon need services to stay at home. Programs for socialization to avoid isolation, loneliness and/or depression are beneficial regardless of age or economic status. As a society, we are living longer, and ensuring services for the future is important, as needs can change quickly.
All Oceana County residents 60 and older are eligible for services. Programs such as congregate meals, educational and recreational activities, are open to those under 60 years of age as well but may have an additional cost for participation.