Lewes Senior Activity Center opens new addition

A spacious activity room and new craft and exercise rooms are part of a new expansion at the Lewes Senior Activity Center which officially opened Nov. 20.

Board President Andy Zampini welcomed about 100 people to the ribbon cutting, and he thanked everyone who helped build the new addition and equip the updated exercise room.

Construction Manager Mark Chura said one of his favorite parts of the project was the redesign of the building to bring in more natural light, particularly to the craft rooms.

The Lewes Senior Activity Center, renamed in 2018 from the Lewes Senior Center, broke ground in 2018 for the expansion, tripling the size of the center. Officials expect current membership of 1,200 to grow to 3,500 by 2025.

The addition cost about $1.7 million, raised in part by donations and fundraising.

The Lewes Senior Center was founded in 1967. Early meetings were held in Lewes Presbyterian Church before the center found its own building on McFee Street in Lewes. In 1989, the center relocated to an old Cape Henlopen School District building in Nassau, where it is has remained until today.

DelDOT’s plan to add a two-way road under the Nassau bridge along with the expansion of the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail will make the senior center more accessible than it’s ever been, officials say. Parking will be twice the size of the current facility.