Silver Key hopes to build ‘iconic’ Monument community center on pledged land
Courtesy rendering
A few weeks after securing a new place for its offices and activity center to land following unexpected displacement from its previous location at an old school, the Silver Key Tri-Lakes Senior Center has bigger news.
If all goes as planned, the relocated center, which as of Aug. 4 is inside Monument Community Presbyterian Church, could carry a qualifier of “interim” on its latest home.
A pledge from Colorado Springs-based home builder and land developer Classic Homes to donate just over 2 acres of nearby vacant land has been offered up to Silver Key Senior Services to build an intergenerational community center, the organization’s leaders announced Aug. 20 at a ribbon-cutting at the church.
“We’re in the discovery phase to determine feasibility. Does this make sense for the community? Can we raise enough money?” said Jason DeaBueno, president and CEO of Silver Key Senior Services, which is headquartered in Colorado Springs.
Jason DeaBueno, CEO of Silver Key Senior Services, unveils potential expansion plans to build an intergenerational community center in Monument, following a donation of land that’s dependent on the organization raising construction costs.
The donation hinges on a successful capital fundraising campaign to cover costs of the envisioned center’s construction, he said.
The construction budget is estimated at $13 million to $17 million, according to DeaBueno. That does not include the donated land.
Thus, the ribbon-cutting celebration that drew a large crowd of well-wishers as well as seniors who use the center also became the launch of a capital campaign to build a standalone hub that would serve all generations.
The capital campaign goal ranges from $12.43 million – the minimum needed to open a new community center – to $17.04 million for the fully realized vision, DeaBueno said.
The offer constitutes “a landmark community partnership” that would create “a truly iconic community center,” he said.
The empty land is in the central part of town, adjacent to Jackson Creek Parkway in Monument Junction.
The full-scale community center would host large-scale events and performances alongside Silver Key’s meals, fitness, education and transportation programs and connect elders with youth and adults in northern El Paso County’s Tri-Lakes region, leaders said.
Programs for all ages on community wellness, lifelong learning, mentorship for youths, socialization and other opportunities would help bond residents and create memories, they said.
Momentum for the project is already underway, with $100,000 raised in early gifts, DeaBueno said.
In addition to Classic Homes and Monument Community Presbyterian Church, early partners in the project include the Town of Monument for community collaboration, Nunn Construction for in-kind cost modeling, CU Denver for technical assistance in architectural design, Monumental Impact for youth mentoring and others.
“The Tri-Lakes community has needed some place the community could call a place for the community,” DeaBueno said. “This isn’t about any age, group or population; it’s broad-based with anybody who wants to be included.”
For more information, go to https://www.silverkey.org/north-expansion/.
Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.
