Dear Resident,
Thank you for engaging with us in this process either by attending the October 5th Redwood City and YMCA open house or through your comments since that meeting. At the October 5th Open House we shared concepts to either reimagine and rebuild or rehabilitate and expand the Redwood City Veterans Memorial Senior Center (VMSC); and to build a new YMCA adjacent to the new/improved VMSC.
Leading up to the open house, the project team - comprised of City staff and architects - met with stakeholder groups and frequent users of the VMSC.
The meetings included:
- Senior Affairs Commission
- Friends of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center
- The Advisory Committee to the Friends Board
- Advocates For Accessible Recreation (AFAR)
- Adaptive Physical Education
- Linkages
- The VMSC Computer School
- The NFL Alumni Association
- Key parks users including the soccer, baseball and softball leagues
- The Chair of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association
- Local veterans groups including the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Vietnam Veterans
In addition, the VMSC has been studied for historical significance.
Nearly 150 Redwood City residents joined us on October 5 to hear the proposals, ask questions, and provide feedback. We appreciate everyone's participation so far in the process.
The open house and group meetings are just the first step in the outreach and decision-making process, and the community will continue to be involved at every stage. It was extremely helpful to hear that the overwhelming majority of residents and stakeholders involved in the process so far are in strong favor of the "reimagine and rebuild" concept. Based on this feedback, the City and the YMCA will present this option for further discussion to potentially be carried through for future design review, environmental evaluation, and financial analysis.
Thank you again for your participation.
Chris Beth
City of Redwood City
Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
Kathy Riggins
YMCA Silicon Valley
- Can you provide any detail on funding and how the City and YMCA will share development and construction costs? What are the terms of the YMCA's ground lease?
- What is the plan for the YMCA at Palm Park? What happens to the park if that facility shuts down?
- Will seniors still have a place in the new facility and will programs specifically for seniors continue?
- What are the plans for providing interim senior services during construction?
- How will concerns about impacts to neighborhood parking and traffic be addressed? Will seniors still be able to park close to the facilities?
- If the existing VMSC is torn down, how will you honor Veterans in the new project? How do local Veterans feel about removing the building?
- What's next?
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