By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The Grand Opening of the newly expanded Lincoln Center in Stevens Point will be held on Tuesday, March 25.
The center, 1519 Water St., houses activities for senior citizens, as well as the offices of the Portage County Department on Aging.
The grand opening will feature tours from 3 to 4 p.m., remarks by elected officials from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. and then a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:45 p.m. Refreshments will also be served.
The expansion, which is on the south side of the original building constructed in 1981, more than doubles the size of the center and relieves crowded conditions in the building. The expansion also offers access to the building from parking lots on both the north and south sides through an expanded lobby.
The project, which experienced initial problems as the sandy soil started sliding into a proposed basement area, features a new location for the Adult Day Care Center on the south side of the building. The Day Care Center includes a sick room and separate restrooms for day-care users.
Across from the Day Care Center are new offices for the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Portage County and benefit specialists.
The second floor of the new section houses the offices of the Department of Aging administration, two classrooms and a computer classroom area to teach senior citizens about computers.
The basement provides storage for the department, along with an employee lunchroom, mechanical areas and a game room. The game room had originally been housed on the main floor but lost the space years ago to the long-term care assistance program.
With the offices moving to the southwest corner of the new addition and the second floor, the old office area was remodeled into a multipurpose area, with kitchen facilities, an overhead projection system and a sound system.
The small windows in that office area were also replaced with new banks of windows.
The old game room, which was used by long-term care, is now a resource library area. And the old adult care area is now the health care room.
The Holly Shoppe, on the northwest corner of the building, was also included in the remodeling project, receiving a new entrance on the northwest corner, complete with a neon light designating the entrance. That entrance allows the shop to be open on weekends, without visitors having to enter the main area of Lincoln Center.
Some of the remodeling work won't be visible to visitors, because the project included replacement of the mechanical systems in the building.