PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — While Kalamazoo is focusing funding on the Community’s Youth, Portage has just made a big investment in its elderly residents.
Portage’s brand new Senior Center is now open after ribbon-cutting ceremonies on Friday, May 20.
The $11-million dollar facility is five times the size of their previous Senior Center and will offer amenities that the old one did not, including indoor pickleball courts.
Portage Mayor Patricia Randall says while the focus will be on seniors, it won’t exclusively be for them.
Lynn Zheng, who with her husband Charles, made a major financial contribution, says she is looking forward to beating someone at pickleball.
The State of Michigan chipped in 1.5-million, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer was on hand for the celebration.
The new senior center is located where the old facility was, but on a much larger lot across from Portage Central High School on Centre Street.
The investment comes at a time when the elderly population is growing at a faster rate than school aged children, due to improved healthcare and a declining birth rate.
A much larger crowd than they expected turned out for the event under sunny skies in Portage, to hear the speeches and take the tour.
Reporting by: John McNeill
