CANTON — Residents who utilize the Cherokee County Senior Center will soon be greeted with a freshened and polished space after the facility’s $1.2 million renovation.

Renovations to the Cherokee County Senior Center’s main facility on Univeter Road are substantially complete, giving the center an additional 2,000 square feet of space.

The renovations started late last year, and Director Nathan Brandon said the remodeling was a project sorely needed by the center.

“I anticipate they’ll be really impressed with what we’ve been able to accomplish,” he said, referring to the center’s clientele.

The department is waiting on its certificate of occupancy to move back into the building, which Brandon said he expects to get next week.

The county used $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding and funded the rest with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds.

Operations at the Senior Center had to relocate to the Mimms Boys & Girls Club and the Cherokee Area Transportation System offices during the

renovation.

The Meals on Wheels operations used space at First Baptist Church of Canton.

The space was needed at the Senior Center because its program has expanded exponentially, the director said.

The expansion includes a larger dining room, a dedicated space that can be used for activities and larger kitchen space to accommodate both the congregate program and Meals on Wheels.

The renovations also allow for a volunteer staging area for the Meals on Wheels Program and a conference room that can be used for the program’s drivers.

“In the renovation, we were able to reclaim some areas that had been taken for administration,” Brandon said.

The center was originally about 6,000 square feet.

Brandon added the center will keep the areas of case management, information and assistance and the administrative offices for home delivered meals at the CATS location.

Each year, Meals on Wheels delivers 50,000 meals and its congregate program attracts between 25 and 55 people each day.

Senior services has 16 people on staff, which includes 11 full-time and five part-time employees.

There are between nine and 12 volunteers who every day deliver meals as part of the Meals on Wheels program.

County Commissioner Jim Hubbard, who is actively involved in Senior Center activities, said he’s also excited to see the finished product.

He noted the larger space will allow for smoother operations for the center.

“The architect had really done his homework and was planning the renovations for not just the building, but also for the traffic flow,” he added.