Everett Senior Center to soon start what could be a million dollar restoration

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Water issues throughout the Everett Senior Center in Maryville has created an expensive repair overtime leaving them no choice but to replace the exterior walls and windows of the building.

“The facility was built over 20 years ago, so we’re experiencing some water intrusion, especially around the windows, doors and those kinds of areas,” Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks and Rec executive director, Joe Huff said.

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The only areas that won’t need attention are those made from brick, which is only a small part of the building, making it a much bigger problem than expected.

“We thought we only had a couple window issues, but more and more windows kept experiencing the same problem,” Huff said.

The parks and rec office is responsible for the center, and Huff said this is an issue that began roughly three years ago. After trying to renovate in the areas that were initially affected, they hired an architect to do an inspection when they saw it was a repetitive problem.

“That’s when we realized it was an issue throughout the building,” Huff said.

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Back then, the price tag to get it fixed was around $700,000, but with pandemic shortages pushing up costs for materials, repairs could cost roughly one million dollars. Huff said it will increase 20-30 percent more than the original price.

However, it’s money the organization is willing to spend knowing how much it’s needed in the community, and for Corey Shields, custodian at the center, it’s a need he see’s everyday.

“We have a lot of people coming from out of town, even asking how do they get to know people and how to get involved, so this is a place where people have come and they find purpose in getting together and spending time with one another ,” Shields said.

“It’s very important to the community that we do this project, get it back in shape so we’ll have it for years to come,” Huff said agreeing.

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They are aiming to begin the project in July, although the original thought was June. The final price is also not set yet. Huff said they’re preparing the bid documents to have ready by June. The center will also stay open while the renovations are happening, but Huff said that could change if need be.

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