Lakeview Center for Active Aging celebrates reopening

Upper level hosts senior activities for the first time since Helene

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 9, 2026

Black Mountain Recreation and Parks Senior Center Administrator Melinda Polites cuts a ribbon in front of the Lakeview Center for Active Aging, March 9, as the facility resumed hosting regular senior programming. Photo by Fred McCormick

Town officials, representatives of the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce and smiling senior residents gathered near Lake Tomahawk, March 9, celebrating the return of a favorite gathering place.

The ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the upper level of the Lakeview Center for Active Aging followed a packed exercise class, marking the first public event in the building in 18 months.

The two-story structure, which is owned by the Town of Black Mountain and sits adjacent to Lake Tomahawk, was flooded in September of 2024, when Tropical Storm Helene submerged the ground floor under nearly 4 feet of water. While the upper level remained dry, the discovery of undocumented charred support beams beneath the floor led to a reduction in permitted occupancy to no more than eight people.

Operated by the town’s recreation and parks department, the site served as temporary office space for staff displaced by flood damage to another town facility on Black Mountain Avenue, while senior programming was hosted at various locations in the community, including local churches and businesses. A group of local seniors and Mayor Michael Sobol, last October, began advocating for the town to repair and reopen the top floor and allow the return of regular exercise, recreational and educational activities, including daily lunch service.

Elected officials, last fall, allocated $15,000 to reinforce the structure supporting the top floor of the center, while the town pursues funding from FEMA to renovate the lower level. Last January, the town council approved an additional $40,000 budget amendment for the project, after staff determined the price of necessary repairs would exceed initial estimates.

The total cost of the project was estimated to be approximately $41,000, according to interim town manager Richard Hicks, who attended the ribbon cutting.

“Most of the work focused on supporting the floor, removing some damaged wood and fixing additional support to ensure it can safely hold the projected load requirements,” he said.

The town facility is “widely used,” Hicks added, making repairs a priority.

Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce Director Cheryl Hyde welcomes community members, March 9, to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the upper level of the Lakeview Center for Active Aging. Photo by Fred McCormick

“Senior citizens haven’t had anywhere to go that meets their needs,” he said. “Now, we can finally open this place and provide programs and daily meals, which are very important to them.”

Opportunities for regular socialization and access to an active lifestyle are crucial elements for the health of seniors, according to recreation and parks senior center administrator Melinda Polites, who was “thrilled” to reopen the facility.

“It’s been very hard to see the impacts on some folks,” she said. “After COVID, then the storm, we’ve lost a few, and you can see the toll that isolation has taken on some of them.”

Regular programming for people ages 60 and over, including dance aerobics, chair volleyball, singing groups and games like Rumikube, has resumed in the facility, according to Polites.

“We will be doing almost everything we were doing before,” she said. “We can now serve as a meal site, beginning at 12 p.m., Monday through Friday, and ending our meal pick-up program. Mountain Mobility will be transporting people, which is another important aspect of this location.”

The Black Mountain mayor was nostalgic as he reflected on the reopening of the Lakeview Senior Center.

“It brings back a lot of old memories, because I basically grew up in and around this building,” Sobol said. “I was raised on Laurel Circle, took swimming lessons here and my brother, Tom, was a lifeguard here before I later became a lifeguard. It feels wonderful to see people back and to have this building reopened.”

The upper level of the Lakeview Center for Active Aging reopened, March 9, for the first time since Helene. The Town of Black Mountain facility has resumed hosting regular activities and meals for senior residents. Photo by Fred McCormick

The return of the senior center allows the town to promote camaraderie and companionship among its senior community, he added, while creating additional opportunities as an event space.

“Now, all citizens can come rent this upper level for gatherings, like reunions, marriages, birthdays and holidays,” Sobol said. “I just wish it would have been open sooner.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony represented a homecoming for local residents, according to town councilmember Ryan Stone.

“Nothing could make me happier than to come here and see people using the center, enjoying it and exercising,” he said. “We appreciate everything the churches did for us and this community, but it’s always good to be home. This is where the seniors have always been, and need to be.”