Princeton Senior Resource Center is about to embark on a capital campaign to raise $1.5 million for a much-needed expansion of its facility in the Suzanne Paterson Center on Stockton Street. That figure would augment $250,000 already in Princeton’s capital budget and another $250,000 that would come from Mercer County for the project.

When PSRC’s director Susan Hoskins presented Princeton Council with the organization’s expansion plan at a meeting late last month, Council members had some questions not only about the scope of the project, but about just who it will serve. Heather Howard asked how many users of the senior center are actual residents of Princeton. Ms. Hoskins put that figure at about half, though all social service programs are restricted to town residents.

Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller commented, “So in a way, we’re building a bigger building for residents in other towns.” 

Speaking a few days after the meeting, Ms. Hoskins said she was puzzled by the remarks. “I was surprised that we returned to the question of people who live in Princeton and people who live outside of Princeton,” she said. “Princeton is a magnet in every aspect of the community, and we have created senior programs and services here that are also a magnet. The people who come into town for our classes also shop and eat in town. I think many of our instructors come from out of town. I also think there is a lot of value to having a mixture of people. If the municipality were covering 100 percent of our expenses, I could see these concerns. But we have donors, and many of them come from out of town. So it’s not that anyone is taking advantage, or are interlopers.”

Another comment that struck Ms. Hoskins was about keeping Princeton, which was the first town in New Jersey to be designated an age-friendly community by the World Health Organization, from becoming “an old community.”

“I was even more surprised at that,” she said. “My response was that we really want to reframe that, and see our older adults as an asset. They’re the volunteers who keep organizations and commissions going. Some of my board members said after the meeting that older people pay taxes and don’t put their children in schools. Older people who have been living here for 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 years bring stability to the town that your college students don’t. So I’d really like to see us reframe that.”

PSRC has outgrown its home. While 213 people participated in its programs in 2002, 1,350 took part last year. There were 43 social groups in 2002, Ms. Hoskins said, and this year there are 175. Those waiting for classes to start often have to wait outside or crowded into the entryway.

The expansion would push out into the courtyard area, creating a social space and reception area. Also on the wish list are a kitchenette area and larger restrooms that must be made ADA-accessible.

“I’m not looking for eight classrooms instead of four, or anything like that,” Ms. Hoskins said. “I’m looking for more space so that people don’t have to wait outside or in their cars. It’s been 15 years since the last [renovation] project. Let’s make it more functional.”

At the Council meeting on September 28, Council President Bernie Miller suggested that it might be time for the senior center to think about relocating to a new facility. “I’m not averse to that,” Ms. Hoskins said after the meeting. “I would love to have somebody say to me, ‘I know of a vacant school or other building.’ But I need it now.”

Should PSRC ever move, it would ideally stay in town. “Much as the community made the decision to keep the public library in the center of town, we need to be here, too,” Ms. Hoskins said. “If the library is the community’s living room, we are it’s study — or maybe its rec room.”