SUNDERLAND — South County Senior Center Board of Oversight members, alongside other officials from the three towns, are eyeing yet another potential long-term home for the Senior Center.

The officials Wednesday afternoon stopped by 112 Amherst Road, a three-floor, nearly 11,000-square-foot office building last occupied by All States Materials Group, as they got their first look at a facility they believe could meet the growing center’s needs. The South County Senior Center currently leases 22 Amherst Road from Delta Sand and Gravel Inc., which also owns this location just a half-mile south on Route 116.

Joyce Palmer-Fortune, who chairs both the Board of Oversight and Whately Selectboard, said the tour provided a chance to check out the building’s floor plan as they consider financial questions.

“Is there something here that is too much for us to overcome?” she said. “Big picture, it looks sustainable.”

Other officials who joined included members of the Deerfield Selectboard, the Deerfield and Whately finance committees, and Deerfield town administration. South County Senior Center Director Jennifer Ferrara led the tour.

One of the major challenges that remains with the 52-year-old building is ensuring any potential renovations don’t require the structure be brought up to modern accessibility code. In particular, any costs related to the elevator were a concern.

“The architecture design piece is going to be huge,” Ferrara said, referencing that the towns would need an architect to look at the building because it’s a change of use. “The biggest hurdle to overcome is whether the elevator will need work.”

The prospect of leasing 112 Amherst Road was brought up earlier this week at a regularly scheduled Board of Oversight meeting on Monday. At that meeting, Palmer-Fortune laid out some rough estimates for leasing costs, which she guessed could be around $10,000 a month. The current rent at 22 Amherst Road is about $1,950 per month.

The other alternative the South County Senior Center has been exploring are additions to either the current Deerfield Town Hall or Whately Town Offices. Each of those concepts, produced through a grant-funded feasibility study undertaken by edmStudio, were around 15,000 square feet, but the price tags were quite steep, as the Deerfield project came in at $16.9 million and the Whately one was estimated to be $15.5 million.

Renting 112 Amherst Road alone, Palmer-Fortune said, would constitute a 45.38% increase in the South County Senior Center’s budget, which is split among the three towns through a funding formula. This increase in the long run, though, would likely be less money than taking out a 30-year, 6% interest loan to build the additions in either Deerfield or Whately.

Palmer-Fortune also reported she made phone calls to nearly a dozen officials and residents between the three towns to gauge their interest in the site, and while more information is needed, the initial reception was positive.

“What I did hear from every single person was: this could work,” Palmer-Fortune said. “A lot of people are really excited. … They, of course, want details.”

This new site is the next in a growing list of potential sites the Senior Center and three towns have explored since the 1888 Building in Deerfield closed amid the pandemic and never reopened due to contaminants present in the building. Other locations for the Senior Center over the years have included a tent outside the 1888 Building, the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in South Deerfield and the current site at 22 Amherst Road in Sunderland.

As the Senior Center and the three towns explore the latest potential site’s possibilities further, Deerfield Selectboard Chair and Board of Oversight member Trevor McDaniel said residents need to show up to meetings and advocate for funding.

“The main thing is to come to Finance Committee meetings, come to Selectboard meetings, come to the outreach meetings,” he said. “It shows that there is public interest and if we want to get over the hurdle and finally get a home for people under one roof, the most important thing you can do is show there’s groundswell support.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.