Park Place at Newtown School celebrates grand opening

by Matthew Quinn
Editor, Johns Creek Herald
July 29, 2011                                               Next Article


JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Park Place at Newtown School, the new "active adult" center at Newtown Park, celebrated its grand opening with speeches and activities.

Deputy City Manager Buzz Boehm was the first to speak.

"When the building was taken over by the city back in '06…it was in pretty bad shape," he said.

He said his Marine Corps instincts prompted him to knock it down, but Newtown Park Community Foundation President Lynn Pennington prevented him. Johns Creek had Community Development Block Grant money and the city decided to rehabilitate the building.

"The result is what you see here," he said. "It's our hope that we don't have a cookie-cutter senior center."

He credited Field Services Manager Leonard Scroggins and the community development team with bringing in the building on time and under budget with its historical integrity intact.


President of Newtown Park Community Foundation Lynn Pennington cut the ribbon to formally open Park Place at Newtown School. From left: Newtown Park Community Foundation Board Member Stephanie Moody, Councilman Ivan Figueroa, Councilwoman Bev Miller, Councilwoman Karen Richardson, Pennington, Mayor Mike Bodker, Councilman Randall Johnson and Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann. MATTHEW W. QUINN/Staff.

Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker said Pennington had many ideas for the school and area. To see those ideas implemented was amazing.

He credited Councilwoman Karen Richardson with a multigenerational vision for the city in which the parents of those who moved to Johns Creek so their own children could attend the schools came to live in the city as well. Those who thought there weren't enough senior citizens in Johns Creek to justify such a center were wrong.

Bodker said the city council's job is relatively easy, because all they do is vote; it's the city staff who did the hard work of revamping the former school. He thanked the Newtown Park Community Foundation for their upkeep of the building.

"You truly saved this school," he said.

Dr. Charles Exley, a member of the Georgia Recreation and Parks Hall of Fame, was keynote speaker.

"I'm your out-of-town expert today," he said.

He said the center was great, as were the seniors who attended the grand opening. He said recreation included three things — anticipation, experience and memory.

"You anticipate coming here, you will enjoy that experience and you will remember it," he said.

He described Newtown Park as intergenerational—in addition to the new "active adult" center, there are athletic fields and playgrounds for the younger children.

Once the speeches were done, Recreation and Parks Manager Kirk Franz announced the other activities that would take place that day. These included trivia contests and cooking demonstrations.

Chef Lynn Ware prepared barbecue beef paninis with maple chipotle grill sauce and fig and roasted shallot spread. She used different types of breads, including parmesan cheese bread, nine-grain bread and sourdough rye bread. She said her sandwiches were well-received.

This will not be the only time she will be at the center. She is already scheduled to teach cooking classes in August and September.

"It's a vision we have, a dream come true," Pennington said later.

She said the new center would be a tremendous asset to the entire community. It took a lot of people and a lot of ups and downs to get the center to where it is today. She said although Boehm credited her with preventing Newtown School from being leveled, it was a group of people and not just her.

Eugene T. Fouts, a Forsyth County resident, attended first through seventh grade at Newtown School when it was still open. What is now instructional space used to be the office of Principal Maggie Smith, who taught three grades as well. Each corner of the building had a classroom; the open space in the middle used to be the auditorium.

"It was a fabulous building when it was built," he said. "It's a good, sound structural building. It always has been."

July 29, 2011         Johns Creek Herald