Mid-Columbia Senior Center looks to its next 40 years, possible expansion
Mid-Columbia Senior Center in 1986 after construction. The building would go on to be a huge success in creating a hub where locals could meet an assist each other and grow the local outreach with Meals on Wheels, medical equipment rentals, a used clothing store, bingo, and a multitude of events and hobby groups. What does the future hold for the next 40 years? More of the same with a bigger space to make it happen.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., Oct. 13, 2026 — Forty years ago, The Dalles made room for a new kind of community gathering place.
Mid-Columbia Senior Center’s Rob Garrett: “I have the best job in the world,” he said while looking to the future of this vital hub in The Dalles.
The city donated the property, and a federal Community Development Block Grant helped fund construction of the Mid-Columbia Senior Center. It opened in December 1986.
Today, the building is so busy that Executive Director Rob Garrett sees a familiar challenge: how to make room for the next generation without losing what made the center successful in the first place.
A new feasibility study has laid the groundwork for a proposed remodel and second-story addition that would add about 5,500 square feet. The concept would build upward rather than into the parking lot, creating space for additional activities and services while preserving existing parking and more importantly the center’s giving culture.
“We’ve got to go forward,” Garrett said.
The center’s 40th anniversary comes as its calendar is packed with activities from morning into the evening. Exercise classes, quilting, card games, music, support groups, line dancing, Toastmasters and ham radio enthusiasts all use the building. Evenings bring activities such as tap dancing, poker and Bible study.
“There’s very little white space in our calendar,” Garrett said.
The proposed expansion is intended to relieve that pressure while preserving the center’s welcoming atmosphere and affordable access.
A hub beyond seniors
The center has about 450 members, but its role extends well beyond older adults. Community forums, celebrations of life, weddings and receptions are among the events hosted in its rooms, which Garrett said remain inexpensive to rent.
The center also supports services that reach people throughout the region. Meals on Wheels, which operates separately, distributes about 670 meals a week, while roughly 35 to 40 people eat in the center’s dining room on a typical day.
File photo - It takes a team - Sarah Fletcher and Debbie Bush served portions of ham and potatoes in the compartmental trays back in 2023 and they were soon soon delivered to locals through volunteers in The Dalles Meals on Wheels program.
Medical equipment such as walkers, shower chairs, wheel chairs and canes are all available through the lending program, giving seniors a big break on cost. Suggested donation: $10.
The center’s medical equipment lending program provides wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches to about 120 to 140 people each month.
Garrett said the building’s value lies not only in the services it houses, but also in the relationships it helps create. Regular activities give people reasons to leave home, stay active and maintain social connections.
That sense of belonging is especially important for older adults who might otherwise become isolated.
The center has about 45 to 50 regular volunteers, with another 15 to 20 who help occasionally. They perform everything from maintenance and small repairs to answering phones and staffing the front desk.
Keeping the center accessible is a priority. Annual membership costs $35, and Garrett wants to preserve that affordability as the organization grows.
From pickleball to a bigger vision
The current expansion idea began with a more modest proposal: a pickleball court. About a year and a half ago, the center explored building one on its property, but floodplain regulations prevented the plan from moving forward.
Preliminary engineering and surveying covered the entire property, however, preparing the way for a larger project. The board turned its attention to a longstanding need for more indoor space.
The idea of expanding the building was not new. Earlier leaders had considered additions, including plans that would have extended the structure toward the creek. Changes affecting the floodplain made that approach impractical.
The current concept would instead add a second story above part of the existing building. Garrett said the feasibility work indicates the structure can accommodate the approach, including extending the elevator to serve the new floor.
Plans envision five additional rooms, with possibilities including a dedicated library area, improved storage and more space for activities and services. The existing dining room and Meals on Wheels operations would remain in place during the proposed expansion.
The building has undergone improvements over the years, including a major accessibility project completed in 2017. That effort raised about $400,000 through local donations and grants, allowing the center to install an elevator and improve access to the basement without taking on debt. More than 100 local donors helped make that project possible.
The experience offers a precedent for community-supported improvements, though the current proposal is a much larger undertaking.
Building a legacy
The Mid-Columbia Senior Center celebrates its begginings this year.
The project remains in an early phase of exploring financial support and developing the plan. Garrett hopes construction could begin in 2027 or 2028, with completion potentially by the middle of 2028. The schedule will depend on how the project progresses.
For Garrett, the anniversary is a reminder that the current building was itself a legacy project — an investment made by people who could not have known all the ways the community would eventually use it.
He wants the next expansion to serve people who have not yet arrived, including generations who may not be born for years.
A visit to the center demonstrates that it is more than a place for seniors to gather. Rather, it’s a volunteer hub where people find companionship, attend community events and access services that might otherwise be difficult to find.
Community members interested in learning more about the proposed expansion can contact Garrett at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center, 1112 W. Ninth St., or call 541-296-4788.
“What is this community leaving for the next 40 years?” Garrett asked. “This was something left to us by the last generation. So now, how are we going to care for it and move it forward?”
