The senior center in the northeast village of Atlanta will be closed for the foreseeable future after snow accumulation from last week's blizzard and ice storm caused most of the metal roof to cave in.
In addition to being a senior center, the building acts as a community gathering space, with events like bingo, exercise classes, sewing groups, community meals, and private events happening nearly every day.
Cathy Green, treasurer of the Atlanta Senior Center, said she is devastated about the collapse, as someone who uses the building weekly.
"It's kind of like my home away from home," Green said. "It gives us a place to congregate, to enjoy each other's company."
The collapse took place sometime between 6 p.m. on March 18 and 7:25 a.m. March 19. Nobody was inside the building when the roof caved in.
William Houston, the secretary of the center and one of its trustees, said the collapse caused massive internal damage to the 6,000 square foot facility that was originally built in 1985.
"There was so much force that it blew open two locked metal doors and debris from the inside of the building ended up in the parking lot," Houston said. "It's like a bomb going off on the inside and then forcing everything out."
Houston says the next steps are to get information from the insurance company's adjuster before deciding whether the building can be repaired or will have to be demolished and rebuilt.
"Some of the walls are sort of bowed out," Houston said. "Luckily, it went out through the doors and not through any of the windows. All the windows remained intact."
Dennis Davis is the center's chairman. He says Atlanta's biggest asset is caring for the seniors ,describing the community that runs the center as a "family affair.
"The main thing with it is it seems like everybody had their spot," Davis said. "They'd sit in the same chair and they would have the same kind of friends."
Davis says there was a potluck in the building the night before, making the collapse even more of a surprise.
"This ice storm has not been kind to a lot of people," Davis said. "And this time we happened to be the ones."
Despite everything, Houston said they are determined to have the center back up and running, no matter what.
Amy Corron, secretary of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, told WCMU they've offered to host some of the events normally scheduled at the senior center at The Chamber Hall in Atlanta, located at 11761 Pettenger Road.
