HAYDEN — The Hayden Senior Center has had its eyes on the old Hayden Lake School for quite some time.

It would be an ideal space for a growing nonprofit looking to expand into a larger location, one with a commercial kitchen and enough room for community events to be held.

"We’ve been looking at it off and on for several years," said Joy Rogers, co-chair of the Hayden Senior Center Board. "We just didn't know what was going to happen with the property."

Rogers spoke to the owner of the property, the Coeur d'Alene School District, at a recent school board meeting to see if the district would extend its bidding process to allow the senior center four to six more months to gather capital and support to make a bid.

"We would have been able to occupy that to expand our services and expand our operations by offering meeting space, make it a venue,” Rogers said. "Kind of like a community center, while maintaining the historic feature of the building."

Trustees, while understanding of Rogers' request, decided Monday not to amend the bidding process. Bids for the Hayden Lake School are due by 2 p.m. April 20.

"We’ve been looking at all of our state and local agencies. We qualify for specific grants," Rogers said. "It would take a lot more effort, let's say, if there was someone in the community who knows our story and really wants to partake and help with the financial piece of that."

The Hayden Senior Center, housed in a strip mall at 9428 N. Government Way, is on a year-to-year lease with its landlord. It expanded into the neighboring suite in 2019, but needs a larger venue to accommodate a growing number of patrons as well as a larger kitchen to continue to feed area seniors.

"With the pandemic, we expanded our services," Rogers said. "When you're limited, it makes it difficult to fill the need."

Hayden Senior Center is in the hunt for a long-term space with at least 8,000 square feet that could serve as a social gathering place as well as a senior center.

"We don’t want to just move to something where we'll have to move in three years," Rogers said. "We want to be there a long time to accommodate for growth."

Email Rogers at haydengems@frontier.com or call 208-762-7052 for info or to get involved.