The Area Office on Aging (AOA) has received a $2.7 million investment from the State of Ohio in strategic investment funds to improve the Lakewoods Campus, located in South Toledo. This funding will be used to upgrade the walkability of the campus, including the addition of a walking path and benches, as well as support the development of 52 units of affordable senior housing and the construction of a new Margaret Hunt Senior Center. Funds were allocated via the passage of House Bill 2 by the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, which was signed by Governor Mike DeWine on June 28, 2024.
The walking path and benches will provide a safe environment for seniors to engage in physical activity and social interactions. The new walking trail will wrap around Lake Virginia, located on the AOA campus, and be open to the public.
The new affordable senior housing units will offer quality living spaces to older adults in need, ensuring that residents have access to safe, comfortable and affordable homes. This facility also will house the brand-new Margaret Hunt Senior Center, which will serve as a central hub in Toledo for senior services, activities and community gatherings.
“At the Area Office on Aging, we believe that older adults should have a safe, affordable, accessible and beautiful place to call home, a nice place to socialize, exercise and share a meal with one another, and a community where they can safely get around without having to walk or be in their wheelchair in the streets. This $2.7 million is going to accomplish this for the 400 older adults and veterans who call the Lakewoods Campus in South Toledo home, for the 400 people who work here, and for the 1,700 people who visit here,” said Justin Moor, president/ CEO of the AOA.
