New adult day care, respite center to be built
The $1.04 million facility will be able to accommodate 12 to 16 people at a time
South Valley and Southwest Mesa residents taking care of elderly and disabled family members will be getting some relief with the construction of an adult day care and respite center.
City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County officials on Tuesday unveiled the new design for the South Valley Adult Daycare and Respite Center, which will be built on the north side of the existing South Valley Multipurpose Senior Center at 2008 Larrazolo Road SW.
It is expected to cost about $1.04 million, which includes design, construction, equipment and furnishings, said City Councilor Klarissa Peña, who represents District 3, where the facility will be built.
While the city’s Department of Senior Affairs is
the project manager, this is a joint project with the county using funds allocated by the state, Peña said.
“When I first took office in 2014, I was approached by community members and state Rep. Miguel Garcia asking if the city would agree to see the project through. With the help of County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, we were able to negotiate a memorandum of understanding to ensure that the respite center would be built. The respite center will help to fill the gap for our most vulnerable citizens in our community, along with their caregivers,” Peña said.
Garcia, D-Albuquerque, pushed the state Legislature to provide the project funding to Bernalillo County, which was subsequently signed over to the city as project manager.
The city and Bernalillo County currently have the nation’s 39th-largest population of senior citizens age 65 and older, said Jorja Armijo-Brasher, director of the city Department of Senior Affairs. By 2030, we will have the fourth-largest population of seniors in the country.
A study done several years ago indicated that the southwest area of the city did not have the necessary services “to meet the demands of seniors that we’re going to be seeing in the future,” Peña said.
Joe Muhlberger, vice president of Vigil & Associates, the architectural firm contracted to design the respite center, said the building will have 3,500 square feet of interior space, and a large walledin outdoor courtyard with tables and chairs. It is expected to accommodate 12 to 16 people at a time and will be secure to prevent people with dementia from wandering off the premises.
“The design is very open, creating a large, flexible space that can be used for multiple activities,” he said. “There is lots of natural lighting, it will be extremely energy efficient, low maintenance, and will provide a high level of thermal comfort and control.”
While it will not feature a commercial kitchen, the ADA-accessible building will incorporate a serving kitchenette, a gathering/ TV area, an office, quiet rooms and storage space, Muhlberger said.
The overall design is intended to continue the architectural stylings of the adjacent Multipurpose Senior Center, with its wood ceilings, exposed trusses and metal roof.
Muhlberger said the final design work will be completed within the next couple of months and the project will go out to bid in June. Groundbreaking is expected to be in September or October, with the construction completed about 10 months later.