The North Mecklenburg Senior Center is closed this week and will reopen in its new Huntersville location Monday, Nov. 7. After months of searching, the center found a new home at Solid Rock Christian Church on N.C. 115 in Huntersville, and this week staff and volunteers are working to move it from its current location, at River Church on Catawba Avenue. The move is one of necessity, as the center announced earlier this year it could not afford to stay in the Cornelius facility.

“We should be moved into our new quarters and ready to start programming on Monday, Nov. 7, for our strength training class, knit/crochet club and our monthly Birthday Bash Pot Luck Lunch,” center director Joanne Ahern said in a statement.

The River Church until this year had been subsidizing the center with low rents since it opened in 2007, but the $3,100 monthly payments didn’t cover the church’s costs for heating and air conditioning and maintenance. Out of necessity, the church this year raised the monthly rent payments to a level the senior center could not sustain. The center began paying the higher rent on a month-to-month basis while looking for an alternate location.

“Pastor Kelly Parker of The River Church has been gracious to let us stay in these quarters while we searched for our new space,” Executive Director of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Senior Centers Trena Palmer said in a statement.

Center officials in May said the situation was dire. They warned the center might close, as they had been scouting unsuccessfully for an alternate, more affordable space. By the end of June, things were looking up. Center officials said they had narrowed the search to two possible locations – one in Cornelius and one in Huntersville.

Ms. Ahern said the center is “thrilled” with its new space, and Solid Rock Pastor Sylvester Williams said the church is thrilled to have it.

“This is exactly the type of thing we want to be involved in, helping the community,” he said.

The Solid Rock Church offers 7,000 square feet of classroom and multipurpose space, including a kitchen, and has ample parking space.

“We are also looking forward to many more new senior friends to join us from around the greater North Mecklenburg area,” Ms. Ahern said.