WEST HAVEN, CT — The old Molloy School on Meloy Road has a new life. West Haven opened its community center, which the city calls "the Hub," with a ribbon-cutting Thursday morning, Oct. 22, and more than 400 people came back that evening for an open house.
"Welcome to 'the Hub'!" Mayor Dorinda Borer told the morning crowd of more than 200 sponsors, city employees and residents. The building at 255 Meloy Road now gives seniors, young people and veterans a shared home under one roof.
A Floor for Teens
The whole upper level belongs to the Department of Youth and Family Services. Its gaming center has gaming chairs, 30-inch monitors, five PlayStation 5s, five Nintendo Switches and five Meta Quest 3S headsets for virtual reality. The floor also holds a youth center, a gym, a wellness suite, a food pantry and an arts studio for wet and dry work.
Members of West Haven High School's Youth Committee came to the opening. "We need a safe space to thrive," senior Jade Stevens told Borer. Senior Aunjolie Pierre-Louis said she is excited to see how the center will flourish.
Seniors, Veterans and Classes for All Ages
The West Haven Senior Center has moved into the building. The main level has a community room with a stage and a 15-foot movie screen, a cinema with an 85-inch TV and recliners, a creative arts studio, a conference hall, an exercise room and an outdoor patio. Police, the city's social worker and its public health nurse will also hold office hours in the building.
Veterans get a suite of their own, with recliners, a large TV, a computer and a table for pool and ping-pong. Marine Corps veteran Marty Richards, of the West Haven Vietnam Veterans, put it simply: "It's a place for us to go now."
Two technology labs, each with six computers, will offer free access and computer classes for everyone from kids to seniors, Borer said. New Haven Bank will hold money-management classes there at no charge, according to the mayor.