Eight years after fund-raising began, the City of Santa Rosa will begin construction on the shell of a new senior wing at the Finley Community Center.
The Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday awarded a $2.4 million contract to A. E. Nelson of Rohnert Park to begin work on the 24,000-square-foot structure.
Dozens of seniors cheered the city council's action, and council members said they were heartened to see the public-private partnership moving forward despite the city's financial challenges.
"We haven't been hearing much good news lately, and this is really just such a lift," said Councilwoman Jane Bender.
Seniors began raising money for the new center through Seniors Inc. on 2002. The group last week donated $480,000 to the city toward the effort. Another $500,000 was donated by architect Larry Simons and his wife, Gudrun. The city's money comes from park development fees paid over the years by homebuilders.
The city decided to proceed with construction of just the shell of the building to take advantage of a favorable bidding climate expected to generate 35 percent savings compared to the original $8 million construction estimate, Parks and Recreation Department Director Marc Richardson told the council.
Seeing work underway was also expected to jumpstart fundraising to complete the project, Seniors Inc. officials said.
The design of the building, which will blend with the architecture of the Finley Center, was lauded by the council.
"This is going to be an amazing addition to what is already a very special building in Santa Rosa," Councilman John Sawyer said.
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