Council Votes 10-0 to Buy Senior Center

City Council · Meeting of October 20, 2026

LOWELL — The Lowell City Council voted 10-0 to approve a $3.373 million loan order to purchase the Lowell Senior Center building at 276 Broadway Street, ending a year-long dispute over renting versus owning the property. Chief Financial Officer Baldwin said the purchase will add about $250,000 a year in debt service, and Solicitor Williams estimated a closing around December 1 following the state-required 20-day holding period. Maxine Farkas, a member of the Council on Aging Advisory Board, told the council the center logged roughly 64,000 visits and served 31,400 meals in the past year, calling the senior center "the best kept secret in the city of Lowell." Approximately a dozen residents spoke in favor and none in opposition.

The council also voted 9-0 to accept $115,000 in FY27 earmark funds for road safety beacons and $65,000 for a municipal road safety grant, and learned the city earned its eleventh consecutive GFOA Distinguished Budget Award.

In the full story:

• Loan Order: Acquisition of the Lowell Senior Center Property
• City Manager's Office Zoning Rewrite Update
• Council Motions: Apprenticeship/Residency Requirement and ALPR Penalties
• GFOA Budget Award and Routine Business
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,190 words

Source: the City Council meeting of October 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.