A Fort Pierce senior center is expected to close, leaving some of the older adults who rely on it worried about losing a gathering place in their own community.
The Council on Aging of St. Lucie confirmed the senior center at 1505 Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce is expected to close in the near future. The property is currently listed for sale for $2.2 million.
The news came as a surprise to some seniors who use the center regularly, including 77-year-old Sandy Pietrewicz. She has relied on the center for nearly a decade.
That's the community center that I go to for lunch and friendship and social activities with other elderly women, said Pietrewicz.
After hearing the center could be closing, Pietrewicz said she and other seniors were left with questions about what would happen to the services they depend on.
We were all talking about who we could contact, and I thought of WPTV immediately, she said.
WPTV reporter Brooke Chau went to the center to get answers and hear directly from the seniors who use it.
The Council on Aging said the closure will not mean an end to the services provided to seniors.
You're going to get the same treatment. You're going to get the same love. You're going to get the same meals, said Trekina Smith with the Council on Aging.
Once the property sells, seniors who currently use the Orange Avenue location are expected to transition to the Council on Aging's facility on Bayshore Boulevard in Port St. Lucie.
The organization said transportation will be provided to help seniors get to the new location.
But some seniors say the location itself is important.
That makes us even angrier. We can't have something in our own community, Pietrewicz said.
Geneira Lovett, who also uses the center, told WPTV that seniors in Fort Pierce want to be able to access services close to where they live.
We live here, we want rights to do thing, besides trouble, Lovett said.
The Council on Aging said it understands those concerns, but says change is necessary.
For now, the Council on Aging says services at the Orange Avenue center are continuing. There is no finalized timeline for the closure because the transition is tied to the sale of the property.
We understand the concerns, it's a change for us too. But hey, change comes, and you got to go with the change, Smith said.
The organization said seniors will continue to have access to meals, activities, social opportunities and transportation once services move to the Port St. Lucie location.
