Hermiston School District’s board has agreed to let the city lease land for a new senior center project.

The 1.19 acre piece of property sits along Northeast Second Street behind the First United Methodist Church. It will be added to the parking lot behind the Hermiston Public Library and the stretch of road where Northeast Second Street curves around to become Ridgeway Avenue.

Hermiston Parks and Recreation director Larry Fetter said there were two potential orientations for the 8,000-square-foot Harkenrider Center — one where the district’s property would house the building and one where it would be used for a 100-vehicle parking lot.

“There is some consideration that if we build on your property we could add a daylight basement,” he said.

Fetter asked the school board to either donate the property or agree to a 50-year lease at $1 per year. District administrators recommended a lease.

Deputy superintendent Wade Smith pointed out there was precedent for the city owning a building on school district property. The current senior center on the Umatilla County fairgrounds is in that exact situation, and the city has agreed to demolish the building as soon as the lease expires on Dec. 31.

He said the property the city was requesting has a water right and an alley right of way running through one corner, making it unsuitable for a school or other building of that size.

He said the intention was for the old Armand Larive Middle School arch on the edge of the property to be kept in place and integrated into the Harkenrider Center campus.

“It’s a historic piece,” he said. “The city is aware of that.”

Back in 2012, the school board offered the same piece of property to the senior center board when they were trying to raise money for a new center on their own. That offer expired, but now that the city has obtained a $2 million community development block grant to build the center on behalf of the seniors, the city requested that the district make the property available again.

Fetter said the city felt comfortable with a 50-year lease. He said it was highly doubtful a new senior center would be built by the time the current one is demolished in January 2017, but that he was in discussion with The ARC of Umatilla County about temporarily using their building at 215 W. Orchard Avenue for a lunch program until the new center is completed.

In answer to questions from the school board, Fetter said some senior citizens were not happy that the Harkenrider Center would feature breakout rooms and more recreational opportunities, or that it will be made available for city-sponsored classes in the evenings. Current seniors just wanted a place to eat lunch, he said, but research indicates that isn’t what the younger Baby Boomers are interested in.

“This is a $2 million investment. We want to take advantage of it,” he said.

The school board voted unanimously to allow district staff to enter into a 50-year lease agreement with the city for the property.

The building will be named for Frank Harkenrider, who was on the city council as either a council member or mayor for more than 50 years and was a longtime advocate for senior citizens and the community as a whole. Harkenrider retired from the council in January 2015.