Life Senior Services Breaks Ground On New Complex

Life Senior Services broke ground on a new complex that will bring all of its services together including medical services, fun activities and outdoor walking trails.

Teri Hockett is recently retired and says she’s been excited about this building for a while.

"I live in the neighborhood, very close, within walking distance, been watching the Roma Berry Center signs, and the construction fence go up, and so I have been very excited to see it start getting under construction finally,” said Hockett.

Life Senior Services will be renovating an old Elementary School near East 51st Street between Sheridan and Memorial.

The Roma Berry Center for Seniors will have a gym, activity center and outdoor gardens.

Eileen Bradshaw, the President and CEO of Life Senior Services, hopes the new complex will encourage seniors to get outside.

"This center is really about combating isolation in seniors,” said Bradshaw. “Having multiple programs, we'll have case management, a lot of things that seniors will need in order to stay happy and active will be located here."

Bradshaw says an important part of keeping seniors happy and active, is giving them something to do.

"Keeping in contact with other people is what keeps our minds vivid and what keeps our physical health up,” said Bradshaw. “There's just so much data that our emotional, social, and physical health decline once we start to isolate."

Hockett hopes it will help seniors who might not have anywhere else.

"I just think it’s a great socialization tool for people who don't always have options to go and do anything else,” said Hockett. “So I'm excited about it, and I hope the city will get behind this, and really come out. It's going to be a place where people can gather, and not just sit in their homes and wait for the inevitable. but to come out here and really make friends and have a good time and be part of society."

They hope to wrap up construction by the end of the year.