As construction of the new Senior Community Center of Owensboro-Daviess County enters its final months, questions remain about what will become of the organization’s longtime home on West Second Street.
The answer, according to city officials and center leadership, is that no decisions have been made yet, and many possibilities could be considered long-term.
The current facility at 1650 West Second Street has served seniors for more than four decades. Originally built in 1936 as Robert E. Lee School, the building was converted into a senior community center in the early 1980s through the efforts of the late Elizabeth Mundy, who advocated for a permanent home for local senior services. The facility was later named in her honor.
Today, the building is owned by the City of Owensboro and houses both the Senior Community Center and a commercial kitchen operated by Five Star Breaktime Solutions, which prepares Meals on Wheels and congregate meals for seniors throughout the Green River Area Development District.
City Manager Nate Pagan said the city’s immediate focus remains on ensuring a smooth transition into the new center, which is expected to open in September.
“There have been ideas tossed around with no formal plan,” Pagan said. “Whether we’ll use it, put it out for bids, take proposals, lease it, or sell it, all of those things could be in play. There’s just no firm plan.”
One factor limiting short-term decisions is the existing lease with 5 Star Breaktime Solutions, which occupies the basement kitchen and is expected to remain in the building until mid-2028.
“We certainly don’t want to do anything that would cause disruption or imperil the local Meals on Wheels program,” Pagan said.
Because of that arrangement, city leaders are not rushing to determine the property’s future.
“We’re not going to evict them,” Pagan said. “That kind of slows down the process for doing anything else there.”
Pagan said there is no established process for determining the building’s next use. As the lease expiration approaches, the city may seek proposals from public agencies, nonprofit organizations, or private-sector interests.
“We’ll probably just think about it, talk about it, maybe take proposals and see if any of them are interesting,” he said.
David Tucker, executive director of the Senior Community Center, said the building has served the organization well despite its age.
“It’s a sturdy old building,” Tucker said. “It has functioned very well for us for over 40 years.”
The structure contains roughly 32,000 square feet, although the senior community center currently occupies about 22,000 square feet. Over the years, various portions of the building have been leased to outside organizations.
Tucker said aging infrastructure and operational limitations played a major role in the decision to construct a new facility.
“It is multiple floors with stairs and elevators that are getting old,” Tucker said. “It has an old boiler and chiller system, so there’s really no zone control for heating and air conditioning, which is not so economical for a nonprofit to keep running.”
The new center, located on an 8-acre campus near the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden, was designed specifically for senior programming rather than adapting a former school building.
“Getting a new building means that we could design a building that’s actually designed to be a senior center, not something retrofitted to make it work,” Tucker said.
While many furnishings and newer equipment will move to the new facility, Tucker said the organization hopes to replace as many items as possible.
“We’re trying to get as much new as we can,” Tucker said.
Some pieces, however, will make the move, including a portrait of Mundy.
Although no official plans have been announced for the existing structure, Tucker said he believes the building still has considerable potential.
“It could be transformed into a lot of different things,” Tucker said. “It’s a lot of space.”
For now, both city officials and senior community center leaders say the focus remains on completing the new facility and preparing for the move later this year. Any discussion about the future of the current building is expected to come after the transition is complete and as the 5 Star lease nears its conclusion in 2028.
