Copperas Cove Celebrates Grand Opening of New Senior Center March 16

More than 200 community members packed the grounds at 2400 Walker Place Boulevard on Monday afternoon, March 16, as Mayor Dan Yancey and City Manager Ryan Haverlah welcomed the crowd to the grand opening and ribbon cutting of Copperas Cove's new Senior Center, a project years in the making that replaced an aging facility sold off in 2023.

The new building is an 8,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal structure facing West Business 190, with a dining area exceeding 2,000 square feet, an 1,100-square-foot kitchen, three activity rooms, a community meeting room, and office space for administration and case workers. Hill Country Community Action Association, Inc. (HCCAA) operates and manages the center under a Memorandum of Understanding the City Council approved in February 2023, and the organization also oversees the local Meals on Wheels program within the city. The city has described the HCCAA partnership as "both positive and successful in expanding services and opportunities for the senior community."

The path to Monday's ribbon cutting began when the City Council provided direction to sell the former Senior Center facility on North Drive and channel the proceeds into a better location. That sale closed in May 2023 for $588,000. The city then purchased the Walker Place Boulevard property in July 2024 for $385,000, with remaining construction funding folded into the city's 2025-2029 Capital Improvement Plan. Ground was broken on December 2, 2024, and the building reached substantial completion in time for March's ceremony. Elements of Architecture, Inc. handled site selection, design, planning, and construction oversight throughout the project.

Project expenses reported by the city total $236,284 for Elements of Architecture's services and $3,161,835 for property and construction costs. Only minor exterior finishing work remained at the time of the opening: signage and a rock wainscotting planned for the lower half of the building's exterior.

The ceremony was hosted by the City of Copperas Cove alongside the Parks and Recreation Department, HCCAA, and the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce. Yancey and Haverlah each took turns at the podium thanking the many entities and individuals who worked to bring the center to completion. The crowd, described in event coverage as animated, cheered as the ribbon fell.

Residents with questions about the new center can contact the city's Public Relations Department at publicrelations@copperascovetx.gov.