$4-Million Center to Serve a Growing Elderly Population : Facilities: Senior citizens hail the City Council’s approval of plans for a 22,500-square-foot multipurpose building at Pat Nixon Park.

A few years ago, it was difficult to get anyone on the Cerritos City Council to believe that senior citizens needed a center of their own.

“We tried to get one in the past, but the council was not open to it. They claimed there were not enough seniors,” said Bob Houska, president of the 341-member Gadabouts senior organization sponsored by the city.

But the senior citizen center plan gained momentum in the late 1980s as an increasing number of older residents took up the cause and candidates who favored a center were elected to the council.

Last week, that effort paid off as the council approved plans for a $4-million senior citizens center at Pat Nixon Park to be financed by the city Redevelopment Agency.

A contract to build the center is expected to be awarded within eight months and the center should be open for activities in 18 months.

The 22,500-square-foot facility will include a multipurpose room seating 300 people for meals and an adult day care center to assist senior citizens recovering from strokes or suffering from such ailments as Alzheimer’s disease.

Among other amenities will be an outdoor recreation and barbecue area and a walking trail winding through a landscaped garden with a stream.

“We convinced them,” said Houska, calling the center an acknowledgment by the council that Cerritos is graying. “The city can’t stay young forever, and they’re recognizing it has older residents,” he said.

“Lakewood and South Gate have senior centers. Why not Cerritos, if we want to be the city that’s modern?” said Mary Petersen, another senior citizen who campaigned for the center.

City officials give the senior citizens the lion’s share of credit for the center, which took shape over a 15-month period that began with a meeting of senior citizens from various Cerritos ethnic groups to sound out interest.

When planning the center, the city surveyed senior citizens about what facilities and activities they wanted, and received 700 written responses. “Over 200 took time to come out to meetings, express opinions and give support,” said Kevin McArdle, city leisure services superintendent.

At one point, a spa was proposed. But the senior citizens said they would rather have more meeting rooms.

Older residents also were visible at various planning sessions held by the City Council and the Parks and Recreation and Planning commissions.

Councilwoman Ann Joynt, who was instrumental in starting the planning process for the center when she was mayor, said senior citizens “were very, very interested, very concerned, and wanted to be a part of it.”

She is enthusiastic about the project. “Cerritos is moving into that phase of getting older,” Joynt said. “I don’t see any great exodus. Most of us, particularly if we are pre-Proposition 13 homeowners, may stay in our homes forever. This will be a very popular and highly utilized center.”

According to 1990 census data, the 55-and-older age group in Cerritos has grown during the last decade. In the 1980 census, there were 4,127 Cerritos residents in that age range. In 1990, the number was 7,128. During the same period, the city’s total population grew by only 220, to 53,240. The number of residents in the 45-to-54 age range rose from 5,080 in 1980 to 8,895 in 1990, according to the census.

Officials say the Cerritos facility will be state of the art. “It will be larger than the average center,” McArdle said, adding that the complex is being designed to serve needs for the next 10 years. There also will be other amenities, including high-tech media equipment and computers.

The center will include activity rooms for arts and crafts, music appreciation, dance and fitness classes, as well as a library, conference room, multimedia center, a billiards room and gift shop. There also will be two lounge areas doubling as lobbies and places where people may gather for conversations.

McArdle said the center will serve a daily lunch and also offer social services, including bereavement counseling, information and referrals, health screenings and assistance with taxes and legal affairs.

“Our goal is to put everything senior citizens need under one roof,” he said. “We will say that Cerritos acknowledges and cares about its senior population, both those who are retired and those who will be seniors in five to 10 years.”

He said the building’s contemporary appearance with gables and decorative river rock--which he likens to a lodge--will avoid an institutional look. “We want something that says you’re invited. . . . There’ll be a fireplace, aquarium and lounge chairs, so it really feels like you’re going to a friend’s home rather than a government program.”

The senior citizen complex, along with parking for 105 cars, will occupy the corner of South Street and Ely Avenue. It will take about half of the four-acre Pat Nixon Park site, which McArdle said is not heavily used by residents.

Much of the park will be torn out during construction. However, several trees, the rose garden and the foundation of the old Pat Nixon home will remain. The rest of the park will be re-landscaped and a new irrigation system will be installed.

McArdle said that Cerritos “is not doing a tremendous amount for seniors” because of a shortage of facilities. The Gadabouts group is the focal point of senior citizen activities, with twice-monthly gatherings that include potlucks, speakers, music and games. The group also sponsors excursions.

Houska said the group is hampered by a 150-person capacity at its Cerritos Park East meeting place. “When we have something, we can’t accommodate everybody. It turns off a lot of seniors,” he said, adding that the spacious new center should encourage more participation.

McArdle said he expects “a tremendous expansion of what we’ve offered in the past” once the center opens.

The city also hopes to attract senior citizens from Cerritos’ large ethnic population, who do not take part in Gadabouts programs because of language or cultural differences.

Joynt said the number of rooms in the building will allow various ethnic groups to have their own activities. “Some seniors are not comfortable with English, or with mixing. I want them to make use of the center to meet their needs, even if it’s not to mix,” she said.