The Oregon Area Senior Center normally starts planning its Annual Ice Cream Social in early summer. In 2026 it didn't. The June newsletter said the Council on Aging had suspended the event because of "all the challenges presented by construction and reduced parking," and the center hoped that "by next July we will be settled in our new building and ready to have the Ice Cream Social kick off a new chapter in a new space."
That new building is going up right next to the current center at 219 Park Street. The Village now calls it the Oregon Senior and Community Center, and when the Village Board approved the construction contract, the Oregon Observer described the project as a "senior center and community gymnasium."
The gym is the part of this project that reaches every household in the village. It is also the part with the most open questions. The Village Board's 2026–2028 strategic plan lists the gym's scheduling, fees, priority users and public access as work still to be done.
A grocery store that held two civic jobs
Oregon has needed a new senior center for a long time, and the Village's own project timeline shows how long. The building at 219 Park Street went up in the 1960s as a grocery store. From there:
- 1980. The Village bought the building and turned it into both the senior center and the library.
- 1995. The library moved next door to 256 Brook Street, and the senior center took over the whole building.
- 2001. The Downtown Master Plan recommended redeveloping the civic campus to expand the senior center.
- 2018. A Civic Campus Master Plan open house showed support for indoor exercise space with a walking track, and residents submitted a public petition backing it.
- Early 2024. The library opened its new west side building. In mid-2024, USPS opened its new west side post office, and the old library and post office buildings were left empty.
- January–April 2024. More than 900 people took part in five public workshops, a community survey and meetings with community groups.
- September 2025. The Board approved zoning for the project and voted to discontinue and vacate a stretch of Waterman Street.
The Village's timeline says the community grew from about 3,800 to 12,000 people while the senior center and library shared one former grocery store. A 2023–2024 space needs analysis found the center needed nearly 200% more square footage.
How a senior center picked up a gymnasium
The gym came out of the same planning process that justified the senior center. The 2023 Five-Year Park and Recreation Plan noted public interest in indoor recreation space, which showed up in both the parks survey and the senior center survey, and it set an action item to include that space in the new building's design. The 2025 Downtown Master Plan described the "new senior center, community gymnasium, and public parking lot project" as "a great resource and activity generator for the downtown."
The parking lot is part of the same plan. Vacating Waterman Street was meant to free up land on the site for parking and stormwater management. Village Administrator Martin Shanks described the vacated piece to the Oregon Observer as "a small stretch of Waterman Street (about 300 feet)" between Brook Street and Park Street. The same article noted that a shortage of parking is one of the most common complaints about downtown Oregon.
So the project will add a public gym and new public parking to a downtown that has long lacked both. Construction has already reached the point of buying furniture.
Where the build stands this fall
The project has moved quickly in 2026:
- March 2. The Village Board approved a $17,911,500 construction contract with Portzen Construction, Inc. Owner's representative Geoff Vine told the board, "By the first of April, for sure, they're going to be digging a hole and pouring concrete," the Oregon Observer reported.
- May 6. The groundbreaking ceremony took place. The May 7 meeting minutes say foundation work was already underway. The Park/Waterman intersection was closed for utility work then, so the Senior Center's Brat Bash on May 8 used Spring Street and the west side of Park Street for access.
- September 22. The public works status memo listed the senior center as "construction is ongoing."
- October 5. The Board voted 7-0 to hire Atmosphere Interiors to supply and install furniture for the Oregon Senior and Community Center, with a cap of $300,000.
Three dollar figures appear in coverage of this project, and each measures something different:
| Figure | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| $17,911,500 | Construction contract with Portzen Construction | Oregon Observer |
| $21.4 million | Total planned for the project in the 2026–2035 capital improvement plan, split across 2026 and 2027 | Village project timeline |
| $300,000 | Approved furniture budget | October 5, 2026 Board packet |
According to the Village timeline, the $21.4 million capital plan figure breaks down as $19.5 million in debt, $1.2 million in tax increment financing, $500,000 in available funds and $200,000 in grants. An ad hoc Senior Center Building Fundraising Committee is also meeting weekly. Its October 6 minutes say it is still revising a public FAQ document and meeting with potential members for a fundraising cabinet.
The center also has a new director to lead the move. The June newsletter announced that Assistant Director Tricia Nicoll would take over as director in early June, following Rachel Brickner's sixteen years at the center.
The rules the Village has given itself until 2028
The strategic plan in the October 5 Board packet sets two goals for the building. The first is a 2027 target to finish moving the senior center into the new building, close out the project and "complete rebranding or public-facing identity work associated with the new facility." The Village hired the firm Thysse for that brand work in August 2025.
The second goal runs from 2026 through 2028. It covers setting use and management policies for the community gymnasium in these areas:
- Scheduling
- Fees
- Supervision
- Priority users
- Public access
- Partner use
- Maintenance responsibilities
- Risk management and operating expectations
Those decisions will determine what the gym means for a household with no connection to senior programming. They will settle whether a weekday open gym exists, what it costs, which groups get first choice of evening hours, and how the courts are shared with partner organizations. None of that is set yet, and the target window extends past the building's planned 2027 opening.
The rest of the block is next in line
The senior center sits at the center of a larger set of downtown changes, and several nearby sites are in earlier stages.
The former Village Hall at 117 Spring Street. The building was built in 1941 as a Works Progress Administration project. At a joint meeting on May 7, 2026, the Village Board and Plan Commission heard redevelopment concepts from JSD Professional Services. The meeting was preparation for a request for proposals, and no developer has been chosen. The goals listed in the minutes are some amount of historic preservation, keeping "the look" of the current downtown, and keeping at least 28% of the site as continuous open space.
Oregon Main Apartments on South Main Street. MSP Real Estate's proposal for 169, 203 and 215 S. Main St. appears on WHEDA's 2026 9% Housing Tax Credit award list with $1.3 million in credits for 57 units, listed as new construction for elderly households. The Oregon Observer reported that the design is meant to borrow from downtown's existing buildings, using red and espresso colors and cream city brick.
Waterman (Triangle) Park. The Downtown Master Plan proposes a separate public restroom building as part of future upgrades to the park, according to the Oregon Observer.
Dates on the calendar
- Tuesday, October 27, 11 a.m. The Senior Center Building Fundraising Committee meets again, after its October 20 session. Its agendas include a public comment period.
- Friday, December 4, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oregon's Christmas Tree Lighting at Waterman Triangle Park, one block from the construction site, according to the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce calendar.
- January 2027. Improvements to Bethel Greenacre Park go out for bids, according to the Village's September public works memo.
- 2027. The Village's target for moving the senior center into the new building and finishing its new public identity.
On the west side, the new play structure at Gary Disch Park was installed by late September. As of the September 22 memo, it was to stay closed until the site was stabilized and safe for public use. For more on how downtown Oregon has been changing, see our look at the supper club on South Main Street and our Oregon neighborhood page.
If you own a home a few blocks from Park Street and want to know how a new civic building, added parking and the Spring Street redevelopment might affect what your home is worth, Louisa Enz and the ENZco team can walk you through it. Request your free home valuation here.
