Construction on a long-awaited Ascension Council on Aging facility in Prairieville is expected to begin this summer, after the resolution of contract-related issues that temporarily delayed the project.
Executive Director Darlene Schexnayder tells Ascension Business Report that the roughly $4 million facility remains on track despite a recent pause following the May groundbreaking. The project is intended to expand services for one of the parish’s fastest-growing areas.
“We’ll be moving forward as soon as we get these few little items straight,” Schexnayder says. “I’m hoping within the next week or two they’ll be getting the project moving.”
The facility had been expected to move into construction earlier this summer but hit what Schexnayder described as minor hurdles while the parish worked through questions involving the construction contract. She did not disclose details.
Project costs have remained largely unchanged from earlier estimates. One of the largest changes involved replacing a planned asphalt parking lot, which did not comply with development restrictions.
“It was bid out with an asphalt parking lot, which is against the restrictions of the area, so some changes have to be made with that,” Schexnayder says. “Cement is cheaper because the base layer was very thick, and so we’re going to end up saving just a little bit of money on that.”
She notes that the savings will allow the council to restore some building features that had been removed during value engineering.
Mougeot Architecture is handling the project design, and Capital Construction is serving as the general contractor.
Once construction begins, Schexnayder estimates the building could be completed in about a year.
The new center will total just over 14,000 square feet and will combine senior center and wellness center functions under one roof for residents in Prairieville and Geismar.
Rather than replacing the council’s existing facilities, the Prairieville location will serve as an expansion of its operations.
The expansion comes as the Council on Aging has outgrown its Gonzales facilities. Schexnayder says the Gonzales senior center regularly serves more than 100 people a day, creating overcrowded dining rooms and wellness classes.
“Currently, the Gonzales Center has 110, 115 people on some days. We’re always over 100 lately, and we are really tight,” she says. “The classes that we offer are overcrowded at the wellness center, so we’re just hoping that having the same things going on at another center will take the people who live in Prairieville and the people who live in Geismar to the new center and it’ll free up more space at the Gonzales Center, where it’ll be more manageable for us.”
The Council on Aging provides a range of services for Ascension Parish seniors through a contract with the Capital Area Agency on Aging, including home-delivered meals, congregate meals, homemaker and personal care services, wellness programs, recreation, education and utility assistance.
