Gahanna presents design update for 825 Tech Center senior center; programmable space to more than double

Kevin Schultz, senior director of operations, presented a design update for the 825 Tech Center Drive project and focused on the senior center component, which he said will be part of a larger 100,000-square-foot campus that also incorporates City Hall and the police department.

Schultz described the senior center as a roughly 30,000-square-foot portion of the campus and said the new facility’s programmable space for seniors would be about 5,890 square feet compared with the existing senior center’s 5,740 square feet. He said "75% of the entire footprint, which is about 8,000 square feet, is dedicated towards senior programming." He described the new space as "purpose built" for membership and programming.

Key design elements Schultz highlighted: - Three primary public entrances (police, City Hall, senior entry) and a dedicated senior member back entrance with badge access for members to park and "badge into the facility." - A larger lounge area with coffee bar, televisions and an electronic fireplace intended as an informal gathering space. - Expanded art and kiln rooms (kiln room sized for two kilns) and significant purpose-built storage adjacent to programming spaces. - A demonstration kitchen with cameras and audio that opens to a multipurpose room for cooking classes and demonstrations; a separate butler’s kitchen intended for caterers and behind-the-scenes use. - A divisible multipurpose room (split into two spaces) and a prefunction area of roughly 1,100 square feet that can host registration or smaller programs.

On capacity, Schultz said a banquet-style setup would hold about 160 people and an audience-style setup would approach "just shy of 200" depending on configuration. The multipurpose room divides into two primary spaces; the demonstration kitchen opens to the multipurpose area rather than forming a distinct third room.

Board members asked several operational and accessibility questions. In response to repeated requests for a covered rear entrance, Schultz said architects are still evaluating options but that "it is still unlikely that we would have the ability to build that canopy off the front" because a large required canopy would intrude on rear parking circulation and could interfere with emergency vehicle clearance; he said the canopy design poses fire-truck clearance and circulation challenges. He said the project team is still looking at smaller canopy options at the front for passenger drop-off but could not commit to a portico at the back at this time.

Schultz confirmed the demonstration kitchen will include commercial-range equipment and commercial refrigerators and that caterers would be able to use a butler’s kitchen behind the demonstration area. He also said badge access for members would be time- and hours-restricted so cards would not function when the center is closed.

The board asked about signage and wayfinding for multiple building entrances; Schultz said staff is working on a wayfinding plan with monument signage and clear labeling of the senior entrance and member entrance.

Next steps and direction: Schultz and staff will return later in the year with another construction progress update and additional renderings. No formal board vote was taken on the project at this meeting.

Ending: The presentation concluded with a request from staff to return with further progress reports; board members said they appreciated the level of detail and asked staff to continue to engage the senior membership about design issues such as the canopy.