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To the editor:

I’m writing regarding your July 18 article, “New BI Center looks to add nearly 60 housing units,” to clarify that the Bainbridge Island Senior/Community Center is not proposing to build housing as part of our expansion.

The center is working with the city to follow through on a project conceived 16 years ago to serve the needs of all people on BI with a flexible, useful community building on the city’s front yard.

Many parts of the current building are antiquated, and the center offers information, assistance, activities and resources not only to our 2,000 members, but to all BI residents. We are doing our best to ensure the project is integrated into a broader vision of BI, Winslow and Waterfront Park. To that end, our representation of 56 units of housing was to assure the City Council that this community project would not restrict construction of adjacent senior housing if and when the city should decide to build.

We are focused on what we know: how to create an important meeting space for our community. We have a long way to go before we’re ready to break ground, and over the next many months, we will continue to reach out to groups and individuals for their feedback and support.

Reed Price

Executive director of the center