Construction on the long-awaited first phase of the Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center-YMCA project at Red Morton Park in Redwood City is set to start in July and last about 24 months, according to city staff. The first phase of the project includes building a two-story, 45,000 square foot Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center along Madison Avenue that features multipurpose rooms, a caterer and food demonstration kitchen, a 299-seat theater, exhibit space honoring veterans, NFL alumni exhibit space, pickle ball and half-court basketball gymnasium, wellness and adaptive physical education studios, rooftop garden and walking track, and various conferencing and administrative space for city staff and nonprofits, according to city documents. "The project also includes the construction of a public promenade connected to the park, a new east side senior center parking lot and traffic calming improvements on Madison and on Valota," the city said. On Monday, the City Council of Redwood City approved awarding the first-phase contract to Novato-based Thompson Builders Corp. for $51.1 million, with the option of increasing the contract amount by 10 percent if necessary. The City Council also approved the City the sale of bonds for up to 64.5 million to finance the first phase of construction. The second phase of the project will include construction of a new YMCA building, plus parking, and will be financed by the YMCA. Planning on the project has been the works for over a decade and was further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in 2010, both the city, which has been operating out of aging Veterans Memorial Senior Center Campus buildings at Red Morton Park, and Sequoia YMCA, currently located on Hudson Street, expressed interest in upgrading their respective facilities, and ultimately decided to partner on a joint project at Red Morton Park. Since 2011, the City has embarked on reimagining the Veterans Memorial Senior Center Campus at Red Morton Park. There are a total of five separate buildings in the northern portion of the Park which includes the Veterans Memorial Senior Center (VMSC), the Gift Shop/VMSC Administration Building, the Senior Center Annex (“Old 49er Building”), the NFL Alumni Building, and Herkner Pool. All of these buildings are at various stages of decay, are inefficient in terms of energy usage, require significant maintenance obligations, and are inefficient to staff and for facility operations. The total project site for both phases is 5.4 acres along Madison Avenue. Red Morton Park encompasses 32 acres. Image rendering of future Veterans Memorial Senior Center Campus courtesy of the city

Official groundbreaking for Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center happening Friday

in Community

Redwood City leaders are set to hold an official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center at Red Morton Park.

The ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. between 1455 Madison Ave. and 711 Nevada St.

Construction of the new Veterans  Memorial Building/Senior Center is part of the first phase of a two-phase project. The first phase also includes a new parking lot, promenade and traffic calming improvements along Madison/Hudson, Madison/Jefferson and Valota/Vera, city officials said. The second phase of the project will include construction of a new YMCA building, plus parking, and will be financed by the YMCA.

The new Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center will be two stories and 45,000 square feet and will include a 290-seat theater; catering/demonstration kitchen; multi-purpose rooms and nonprofit partner offices; a wellness/adaptive physical education facility; a rooftop garden and walking track; veterans exhibits and NFL Alumni exhibits and a mini gymnasium with two indoor pickleball courts.

For more details about the project, go here.