Florence asks residents for ideas on multigenerational center

Florence is inviting residents to offer their ideas on what they would like to see at the town's proposed multigenerational center. The event takes place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 13 at the Viney Jones Liberay and Community Center, 778 N. Main St. The town is asking residents to provide their input on  "prioritizing the recreational amenities, community spaces and exterior elements" they would like to see in the center, according to post on the town's Facebook page. During the interactive event, attendees will rank potential amenities and participate in a survey to help shape the future of the facility. Residents who can't attend the event will be able to see everything that was presented at the meeting on the town's website.

At its Jan. 2 meeting, the Florence Town Council unanimously voted to approve a professional services agreement with Architekton for the multigenerational center predesign phase in an amount not to exceed $438,900.

The center is expected to have intergenerational activities, senior services, dedicated spaces for teens and out-of-school programming, a large gym space for fitness equipment and fitness classes, a large recreational space for youth and adult sports, as well as special-interest classes, public rental spaces, classrooms and an outdoor recreational space.

Using the Casa Grande Recreational Center as a model, town staff has calculated that the Florence multigenerational center will  cost about  $30 million just for the facility, according to the minutes of the Dec. 11 Florence council work session.