Students are excited at the prospect of a new downtown community center slated to open in the spring of 2025.
The downtown center at 445 Bryant St. is proposed as a North Palo Alto alternative to the Mitchell Park Community Center, with a focus on teenagers and seniors. The space will also host art, fitness and summer camps, according to the city’s 2025 fiscal budget report.
Palo Alto High School junior Ella Segev said she is excited for the chance to have another place to go for studying.
“I’m always looking for new places to study and be productive,” Segev said. “The Mitchell Park teen center and the library has always been a place that me and my friends go to, and if there’s another space like this that is supportive of students. That’s definitely a plus and could really support me in my school life.”
According to Palo Alto Mayor Greer Stone, the City Council decided to use the space as a multipurpose building during a meeting on June 3.
In addition to teens and seniors, the area will host La Comida de California, a non-profit organization that gives out warm meals to senior citizens every day from 10a.m. to 2p.m. La Comida’s previous location, the Avenidas building, had closed down, so this nearby center is crucial for them to continue their service.
“To be able to allow La Comida to continue to serve our cities early and to provide them an opportunity to be able to have healthy lunches and just as importantly, an opportunity to be able to socialize with one another is great,” Stone said.
After the food distribution, the building will be focused on the city’s teenagers.
“To be able to engage in teen services and various recreational activities, and just have a space to be kids together is another real critical need,” Stone said
The building, which previously hosted the gym Form Fitness, will need renovations to adapt the space to its intended uses. It’s currently unknown how much this project will cost.
“There’s going to have to be probably significant renovations to the space to be able to make sure that we’re utilizing the space well,” Stone said. “I was really excited to be able to support this sharing of a community resource, because I think this is going to be able to allow us to address two real, critical needs in the community, one senior citizens as and, our youth.”