The newly-expanded portion of the Woodie Fite Senior Center is officially open for business.

Members of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, along with individuals involved in the project and guests, recognized completion of the project with a ceremonial ribbon cutting March 5.

The nearly 5,000-square-foot addition was constructed by local company Benchmark Tuscany after Douglas County secured a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant.

The project was paid for with grant money and more than $128,000 in matching funds from Douglas County.

“We are excited about the new opportunities the additional space will offer our citizens,” said Douglas County Commission Chair Tom Worthan.

“I appreciate the effort our staff put into obtaining the grant. It is great to be able to get federal money that our citizens have paid in and use it locally to support needed projects,” he said.

Douglas County Assistant to the County Administrator Jamie Bennett and grant consultant Robin Bishop, along with senior center staff members, began the application for the grant in fall 2010 and submitted their work in March 2011. The county was notified later that year they received the grant.

“We had a great team that did our homework to show the need our seniors had for more space. Over 300 seniors were surveyed to find out what they used the center for and how it could be utilized more,” said Bennett. “We know our county has a growing aging population and we used that knowledge to show there was a definite need to offer more options for quality of life programs at the center.”

The new activity room has restrooms, a storage area, and a covered porch. The area is in in full use and the enrollment numbers are growing by the day.

“We have been able to expand our physical fitness programs to offer classes more often. Cardio Fitness [class] is now four days a week while Jazzercise is five and around 100 people are in strength training,” said Julie Bonds, secretary at the center.

“Our seniors love the exercise classes and we’ve added another bridge class. We are seeing our enrollment increase daily.”

Information: (678) 626-5630 or visit celebratedouglascounty.com.