The Town of Reading took a big step on Wednesday, November 19 as the Select Board voted unanimously to select Symonds Way as the preferred site to construct a new Center for Active Living (ReCAL).
ReCAL will address shortcomings of the current Pleasant Street Senior Center, while also providing additional resources that will serve the community at large. The program includes indoor and outdoor recreational spaces as well as meeting and group activity rooms and a café, with extended hours of operation to accommodate various parts of the community.
“After nearly a decade of studying the changing community demographics and priorities, we are now at a stage where we can put it all together in the design of a new facility that will serve the community for years to come,” said Town Manager Matt Kraunelis. “The building will provide improved resources for the growing number of age 60+ residents of our community, while also including resources and programs that serve all age groups.”
After completing an extensive feasibility study in the Spring of 2024, the Town hired Turner & Townsend Heery as the owner’s project manager (OPM) last month to work with the Permanent Building Committee on the planning and design of this new public facility.
Current timelines indicate Reading residents will have the opportunity to vote on both the new Center for Active Living and the new Killam Elementary School in 2025. A public forum will be held on Tuesday December 17 at the Pleasant Street Center that will introduce the initial ReCAL design concepts to the public and gather community feedback. The Permanent Building Committee is beginning work on a project website that will serve as a portal to the latest information and provide a communication feedback tool for residents.
Assistant Town Manager Jayne Wellman welcomes project inquiries from the public at jwellman@readingma.gov. For background information on the project please visit the ReCALC Feasibility webpage at https://www.readingma.gov/900/ReCALC-Feasibility-Study.
