Intergenerational center nearing reality

PLYMOUTH — It’s been a long time coming, but the Plymouth Intergenerational Center should be reality in no more than another year and a half, if not sooner.

With hopes high to receive a Community Development Block Grant of up to $750,000 to help with the projected $4.2 million cost of the center, the Plymouth Intergenerational Coalition is ready to launch its capital fundraising campaign.

To that end, coalition director Martha Laning has announced that Larry Gentine and Michael Harvey have been named co-chairs of the capital campaign. “We will be reaching out to the community, which will be really exciting,” she said.

The coalition has hired Smies and Associates Architects of Sheboygan to design the facility and their plans for a two-story structure will be presented to the Plan Commission for preliminary approval tonight.

“The building could be being built as early as this October, if everything goes perfect, otherwise next spring at the latest,” said Laning, who added that construction is expected to take about a year.

The one-of-a-kind building would house the Plymouth Senior Center, Sheboygan County Head Start, the Sheboygan County Family Resources Center and a day care component, providing a true intergenerational facility, Laning said.

“Studies have been done showing that inter-generational relationships help both kids and seniors,” Laning pointed out.

“Kids make the right decisions regarding drugs and alcohol and perform better in school, have a better awareness of the full life cycle and a better sense of community. Seniors have the sense they are being needed, that they have very viable skills they can offer the community, and it improves their cognitive abilities and overall wellness,” Laning said of the inter-generational model.

“We’d like to be a model, not only for the state of Wisconsin, but for anyone in the nation who is interested in bringing the generations together,” she continued.

The idea for an intergenerational center in Plymouth began about 10 years ago, Laning said, when the Plymouth Senior Center began to outgrow the space it rented in what was then the Valley View Medical Center on Reed Street.

The coalition was founded by Marsha Vollbrecht, who Laning credited with keeping the project alive and moving forward over the years.

“Marsha has kind of kept that flame going,” Laning acknowledged. “If it was an ember, she has been gently blowing on them to keep it going.”

The coalition director also credited the community for provided continued support for the project. “Everybody in the community has stepped up to help us. We’re really excited because the community has had so much faith in us,” Laning explained.

The Van Horn Automotive Group contributed seed money that helped the coalition set up its administrative structure, while Don Krauss donated the money to purchase the property at Highland Avenue and Douglas Drive where the center will be built.

The Sheboygan and Plymouth Area United Way gave the coalition $150,000, Laning added, and last spring authorized the group to use the money to develop architectural plans for the building.

Laning said that the coalition has already raised $1.35 million from community members and businesses toward the project, contingent on the coalition receiving the CDBG funds.

The money for the grant would come from federal stimulus funds, according to Laning, and the intergenerational center has several things in its favor in the grant process.

“Some of the criteria for the federal stimulus funds include they’d like to see partnering in the project, which obviously we’ve done, and they’d like to see it be a public building,” Laning noted.

“We’re going to be putting a 2,000 square foot-plus area into the center of the building that we’re calling ‘The Gathering Area’ that’s going to be open to the public anytime the building is open. We’re expecting the community to be able to enjoy this like a community center,” Laning said.

The criteria also favor a readyto build project, which is why the coalition is moving forward with getting approval for the plans, launching the capital campaign, and making plans to begin construction.

“All of those attributes make us look favorable for getting the CDBG, and we’re hoping they’re right,” Laning said. The federal grant would be for a maximum of $750,000, and the state could make additional funds available that could bring the total to $1.2 million.

The coalition has been told their grant application has been submitted to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for final approval. That decision could come as early as sometime this month, with the money released to the group the following month, although Laning conceded that the timetable could be changed.

“We’re trying to move things ahead so that, if we do get the notice, we’re ready.”

“This project will put 70,000 man-hours of labor back into the community, which is a nice boost to the area,” Laning added.

“We will be going to a bidding process for all parts of this project, but we’ve had interest from a lot of area businesses who would like to assist us any way they can,” Laning said.

“Overall, this is just a phenomenal community project. Everybody is partnering to bring something wonderful to the community. There’s nothing negative about this project,” Laning concluded.