Lymes’ Senior Center Hosts ‘Soft Opening’ to Welcome Back Members to Renovated, Expanded Facility

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Community
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May 7, 2025
Smiling faces were everywhere during the Lymes’ Senior Center’s ‘soft opening’ last Monday. All photos courtesy of Town of Old Lyme.

OLD LYME—On Monday, May 5, more than 150 people turned out for a celebratory pizza party at the Lyme’s Senior Center in honor of its “soft opening.”

The Center on Town Woods Rd. has finally emerged from a major renovation and expansion project. Those who attended were able to explore the now much improved facility while also viewing the new design and improvements for themselves.

Lymes’ Senior Center was packed for Monday’s ‘soft opening.’

Director Stephanie Gould and Assistant Director Caitlin Perkins were on hand to welcome back the seniors, who have been pursuing Center activities at various venues in town during the construction period. WIth the reopening of the Center, all the activities are now relocated back at the Center

Five Old Lyme Town Hall staff—First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, Vicki Urbowicz, Courtney Joy, Michele Hayes, and Katie Balocca—attended the celebration to assist with the festivities.

From left to right, Old Lyme Town Hall staff Michele Hayes, Katie Balocca, Courtney Joy, Vicki Urbowicz, and First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker join Lymes’ Senior Center Director Stephanie Gould (second from left) at the celebration.

Shoemaker told LymeLine by phone on Friday, “It was an absolutely wonderful event. There were so many happy, smiling faces.” She added, “People were just so glad to see each other again.”

An official Grand Opening of the Senior Center is planned for Saturday, May 31.

Author
Olwen Logan

Olwen Logan grew up in a family of London educators but was inspired by her great grandfather, influential Daily Chronicle newspaper editor Alfred Ewen Fletcher, to pursue journalism. She built a successful career in efficiency analysis and senior audit management before launching her own PR-focused consultancy. After moving to the U.S. in 1990 and settling in Old Lyme in 1994, she became a staff writer for the now-closed Main Street News and later joined Jack Turner’s fledgling LymeLine.com, discovering the career she had always wanted—albeit in an unexpected digital form. Even after relocating to Maryland, she continued covering Lyme and Old Lyme with the same dedication, earning national recognition as a LION Publishers award finalist in 2020. After more than two decades of service, Olwen stepped away in November 2025, donating LymeLine.com to the newly formed nonprofit LymeLine Inc. and expressing her excitement for its continued growth and mission.

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