Staff and directors at Family Services of Westchester Inc. recently began construction on the nonprofit agency”™s generation-bridging center at 106 N. Broadway in White Plains.
Designed by Dennis Noskin Architects in Tarrytown, the 18,000-square-foot Lanza Family Center for All Ages will house an early-childhood wing, a youth center and an older-adult wing. The building will include dedicated space where the generations can come together to share in events and activities. Family Services officials said the 2-acre site will be landscaped for outdoor activities, featuring plots for intergenerational gardening, outdoor seating areas for older adults, age-appropriate playgrounds and youth sports facilities.
The $4.9 million construction project is managed by A.P. Construction Co. in Stamford, Conn. The city of White Plains approved $75,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding for the project.
The facility is named for Patricia Lanza, the late philanthropist whose $1 million challenge grant helped realize FSW”™s vision to create an intergenerational facility in lower Westchester County. The White Plains center will be modeled after Family Services”™ award-winning intergenerational program in Mount Kisco, My Second Home.
“We are thrilled to take this next step on the road toward an intergenerational program in White Plains so that residents of southern and central Westchester can have access to the recreation, socialization, education and enrichment programs that have been so successful at My Second Home,” Susan Wayne, president and CEO of FSW, said in a press release.
Construction is scheduled to continue through this fall and programming will begin in January, Family Services officials said.
Founded 60 years ago, Family Services of Westchester runs more than 50 social service and mental health programs for residents of all ages.
