Senior Center fires architect

Carson City Senior Center directors fired the architect of the center's new building, and are looking for a new one to design a building within their $3 million budget.

Eismann-Pence and Associates Architecture designed the existing senior center, so the board of directors decided to use the firm for a planned expansion of the building, said board chairman Bruce Scott.

However, the architecture firm moved to Colorado in the interim, and the building plans put the cost of the new structure $1 million over budget.

Even after whittling items from the wish list, Scott said, the building was still $300,000 over budget.

The center expansion was to include a second story, but Scott said new plans will have the building constructed out instead of up to help reign in costs.

The new construction concept is possible, he said, because the senior center now has six acres of Bureau of Land Management property it didn't have when the expansion plans were conceived.

Building out would also prevent an expensive and lengthy move of senior center services, which with the second story construction plans would have moved senior center services to the Fuji Park Exhibit Hall.

The construction schedule appeared to have been moved to next spring, but Scott said under the new plan construction could start early this winter.

The senior center expansion includes expanding the dinging room, adding meeting rooms, offices and other large rooms as well as adding a second story with extra offices, meeting rooms, computer lab and a large multi-purpose room.