CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — “Our Place,” a new center for older adults, officially began construction at its forthcoming space near downtown Cedar Rapids.
The $5.5 million project will create 13,000 square feet of amenities, including a cafe, classrooms, an exercise studio, library, theater and outdoor pickleball court at Horizons, 819 Fifth St. SE.
Jim Miller, Horizons Vice President of Development, said the new center has been under discussion since the Witwer Senior Center, 605 Second Ave. SE, was inundated by floodwaters in 2008.
Jim Miller, Horizons Vice President of Development, is seen during the event at Horizons. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
More than $4 million has been raised, with donations of any amount welcomed to finish the capital campaign, Miller said during a “sledgehammer” groundbreaking on March 13, 2026.
Horizons President and CEO Katie Oatswell noted that adults aged 60 and older are projected to make up 35 percent of the population within the decade.
“Today, we break ground, not just on a building, but on a future,” she said, citing connections that will be made at the new center.
The Witwer Senior Center was located in downtown Cedar Rapids before it was flooded in 2008. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Horizons, a Family Service Alliance, began in 1960 as the Family Service Agency and is now best known for offering Meals on Wheels, a meals program for homebound older adults in Linn, Johnson and Washington counties, and Neighborhood Transportation Service, which provides transportation when city buses are not running.
The new senior center project is receiving funding from the Hall-Perrine Foundation, Linn County, city of Cedar Rapids, and other donors.
Miller said remodeling will be in phases over the next year, with Our Place scheduled to open in early 2027.
See more photos from the March 13 event at Horizons:
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