Thompson Senior Center undertakes $3.8 million expansion
Published: 01-20-2025 6:01 PM |
WOODSTOCK — Over the years, Linda Smiddy has eaten lunch many times at the Thompson Senior Center.
Sometimes, she’d sit at a table with others devoted to practicing their French language skills.
But the value of that conversation was limited when it was drowned out by conversations of dozens of people eating lunch around them and by sounds from the kitchen attached to the dining hall.
“When you think about the age of the people ... who go there having a space (where it’s) difficult to hear is problematic,” Smiddy, 82, who has attended programs at the Thompson in Woodstock for more than a decade, said in a phone interview.
Lucky for Smiddy and other older adults in the area, the Thompson is in the midst of a $3.8 million renovation and a 4,800-square-foot expansion project. Funded by private donations and grants, construction at 99 Lane Senior Lane started last November and is expected to be completed in September.
“We’d really outgrown the space we had,” Deanna Jones, the Thompson’s executive director, said during a recent tour of the site as a construction crew worked nearby.
Before the renovation, up to 80 people were allowed in the Thompson Center at a time. When the center reopens, capacity will grow to around 300.
The Thompson Center was originally an old farmhouse that the nonprofit purchased in 1987, renovated and opened in 1991, Jones said. In 2019, the nonprofit received a donation to conduct a feasibility study to consider an expansion.
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The plans were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but talks resumed in the last couple years. The Thompson is undertaking a capital campaign to raise $4 million, which it’s more than 75% of the way to meeting, Jones said.
One aspect of the project patrons and staff alike are looking forward to the most is the complete overhaul of the dining room and kitchen. The dining area will roughly double in size, a commercial kitchen will be added and acoustic tiles will be added to the ceiling to allow for better hearing. There also will be two rooms off the general dining area where groups — including the French speakers and a caregiver support group — can meet for lunch.
There will also be more room for meal preparation which is especially needed for the center’s home-delivered meals program. A decade ago, the Thompson served 5,800 meals per year to people in Barnard, Bridgewater, Pomfret and Woodstock. In 2024, that number climbed to 13,000, Jones said.
“Would could never use the dining room before lunch,” Jones said, because the tables where people would eat lunch in person were the same tables used to pack up home-delivered meals. When the kitchen reopens — it is currently on schedule to be completed in April — there will be a separate area for packing meals.
The second floor of the building is also getting a makeover: There will be a new fitness room, staff offices and group meeting spaces.
“We used to have a staff person in the copy room,” Jones said.
In 2024, more than 1,800 people from about 20 towns attended programs including card games, memoir classes, balanced screenings and tax preparation appointments at the Thompson, totaling more than 32,000 “check-ins,” meaning patrons tend to keep coming back.
The new offices will allow the Thompson’s 15 staff members — including seven full-time employees — to better meet with people who need one-on-one assistance applying for services such as health benefits or other social service programs.
“They have a whole range of ways they provide support to people in the community,” Smiddy said. “We are trying to age in place and Thompson has been a huge part of helping us meet that goal.”
She and her husband, James, who is 99, have gotten help from the Thompson for a variety of needs, including simple home repairs such as replacing a light bulb in their home’s 9-foot ceilings.
“Highly overqualified volunteers come help us with that,” Smiddy said.
During construction, the Thompson’s programs are continuing at different locations including Congregation Shir Shalom, Norman Williams Public Library and the White Cottage Snack Bar. Part of the project’s $4 million price tag supports the center’s operations at those locations.
“It’s a big undertaking but it’s so important to all of us … that we continue services,” Jones said.
Mah-jongg and bridge groups are meeting at the library. Shir Shalom is hosting benefits assistance meetings, the caregiver support group and exercise programs including bone builders, which meets twice a week.
“It’s been terrific,” said Shari Borzekowski, the Thompson’s Aging at Home resource manager and HomeShare Vermont case manager.
Borzekowski is also a member of Congregation Shir Shalom and said its members were happy to let the Thompson use the space during the week when it is usually empty.
“People are doing a nice job of being respectful of the space,” Borzekowski said as she checked people in for bone builders last Thursday.
Meal prep for home-delivered and takeout meals is taking place at the White Cottage. Initially, staff were holding congregate meals at the seasonal restaurant as well, but the recent cold weather caused a pipe in the dining area to freeze and the dining area is undergoing repairs.
Staff have planned gatherings at Pizza Chef in Woodstock Village. Takeout lunches at the Masonic Lodge on Pleasant Street will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays in Woodstock Village until people can gather once again in the ding room “to keep that social engagement going,” Jones said.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.