Susi Q breaks ground

Beaming city officials and staffers, senior citizens and donors to the Susi Q Senior Center on Third Street gathered Tuesday to celebrate the groundbreaking for the project.

“This is a banner day for Laguna Beach,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Schneider, who made the center the centerpiece of her goals as a member of the council. “Can you believe we are finally doing this? We are going to have a senior and community center as good as any in Orange County.”

Mayor Toni Iseman, Schneider and fellow council members Kelly Boyd and Cheryl Kinsman donned hard hats and wielded shovels for the de rigueur groundbreaking photo op. Mayor Pro Tem Jane Egly was unable to attend.

Iseman said projects like the community/senior center are one of the perks of the job of running the city.

Among those who attended the ceremony: two of the four sons of Elizabeth Quilter, who donated $750,000 toward the construction of the Susi Q center, which is named for the nom de plume used by their mother; her daughter in law, Ann, co-chair of the capital campaign; and granddaughter, Emily.

The center will be on two levels, with parking for 72 vehicles on the first lower level and 19,056 square feet of space above, divided into two wings, with the senior center on the north end and the community center on the south end separated by an entryway. An outside terrace will span the Third Street frontage.

Laguna Beach Seniors Inc. President Lee Anderson said he sometimes had doubts that the center would ever become a reality.

“But here we are,” Anderson said.

Schneider said she never had a doubt, inspired by the determination of seniors to have a safe and welcoming place for their activities, among them past presidents of the group: Pauline Walpin, Louise Buckley and Virginia Schott, who attended the groundbreaking.

Also recognized: past Seniors Inc. President Marthann Newton and the late Jenny Goodno.

Representatives of the project design and construction team also basked in the glow of the late afternoon sun that shone no brighter than the smiles on the faces of the participants in the groundbreaking.

The team includes the city, the seniors, Griffin Structures — the Laguna-based program manager — LPA Architects and Swinerton, the construction manager.

Schneider wore her hard hat to the council meeting that followed the groundbreaking — a symbol of the center’s long-awaited construction.

“Thank you, community,” Schneider said.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Should the city spend more to build the senior/community center to the highest environmental standards? Write us at P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, CA, 92652, e-mail us at coastlinepilot@latimes.com or fax us at 494-8979. Please give your name and tell us your home address and phone number for verification purposes only.