Trails, 200-acre forest at new site for $14 million Pierce County senior center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Greater Gig Harbor Foundation and Gig Harbor Senior Center plans $14M community center.
- Site to include senior, event and education centers plus nine acres with trails.
- County issued permit; project cleared studies and aims to break ground 2028.
From trails to a makerspace to a fitness studio, the vision for the Gig Harbor Senior Center’s future home keeps getting bigger.
Currently meeting at Peninsula Lutheran Church, the Gig Harbor Senior Center has been looking for a permanent facility for several years. But the new “Harbor Center,” as leaders are tentatively calling the project until they settle on a final name, has developed into much more than a place for older adults to gather.
The 13.15-acre property near the roundabout at Point Fosdick Drive and 36th Street Northwest will feature four facilities, according to the project website: a 5,945 square-foot senior center, a 4,672 square-foot event and community center, a 6,619 square-foot education center and a 480-square-foot annex building. It will also provide access to nine acres of conservation area with forest trails and outdoor spaces including a grass plaza, pavilion and patio, the website says.
Amenities range from a fitness studio, makerspace and lounge/cafe in the senior center to a multi-use space seating up to around 250 guests in the event and community center. The education center will host an “environmental education hub” with three classrooms and other facilities, anchored by the Curious by Nature School that operates under the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation.
“This is about more than just a building,” Joyce Schultz, Gig Harbor Senior Center Director, said in a news release Dec. 8. “It’s about creating a forever space where older adults—and the broader community — can connect, learn, celebrate, and thrive.”
Pierce County issued a conditional use permit for the project in mid-September, and “all major site work and required studies are complete,” the Dec. 8 news release said. That means the project can proceed toward breaking ground in early 2028.
The land is owned by the Allen Family Trust, with John E. Allen and Kathleen R. Allen as trustees, according to county real estate records.
Costs for the project have nearly doubled since The News Tribune reported on the center in 2023, when costs were pegged at $6.9 million and advocates envisioned a fitness center, library, commercial kitchen and outdoor area. The Greater Gig Harbor Foundation and the Gig Harbor Senior Center seek to raise $14 million through a capital campaign, according to the release Dec. 8.
“ ... while this is being led by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation and of course the Gig Harbor Senior Center, we really see this as a community project,” Julie Ann Gustanski, CEO and president emeritus of the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation, said in a phone call Dec. 10. “And there is room for everybody to be involved, be part of the team to make this a reality for the community.”
Both Gustanski and Schulz emphasized the need for a center like this in Gig Harbor, where approximately a third of the population is over 60 years old.
“So we just feel it’s time to really devote the energy and effort to respect and honor the seniors in the community with a dedicated space where they can come and call it their own and be proud of it and thrive,” said Schulz.
Gustanski explained that the trails will be accessible to anyone. The property sits adjacent to over 200 acres of forest, she said.
