There’s a “club” in town that’s off the chart. Last year, approximately 81,000 people walked through its doors seeking fun, friendship and new experiences. Have you heard about it? It’s modern and full of energy.
The main room features an entire wall of windows that stretch up to a soaring two-story, high ceiling where sleek light fixtures hang. During the day and evenings, chatter, laughter and sometimes piano music float in the air with a warm welcoming sense of, ‘Come in, join us.’
So where is this place and how can you join, you wonder? Well, membership is free and comes by naturally — your age. And it’s right here in the heart of Apex. So, if you’re at least 55 years old, then you, too, can start participating in all the Apex Senior Center has to offer.
Don’t let the name fool you or stereotypes creep into your mind. This place is unexpected and, best of all, the majority of its offerings are free or at a low cost.
How about Pilates or an aerial yoga class that uses silk hammocks suspended from the ceiling? Pickleball anyone? Avid players found here! Interested in hearing an expert discuss the history of film? Want to play a card game, learn more about cybersecurity or meet new people? It’s all available at the Apex Senior Center, a place to explore studio arts, fitness and educational topics plus attend clubs, special events, travel opportunities and so much more.
“It’s like a Meetup for seniors,” joked the center’s manager, Allie Prelaske, referencing the popular website people with shared interests use to literally meet up for joint activities.
And meet up they do. Prelaske was specifically talking about the center’s large number of clubs, but it applies across the board. The center is hugely popular. On any given day, the main lobby is bustling with people. They meet for a walk, visit together after a class or simply relax with a cup of coffee.
“I love it — really great stuff here,” said Jeanne Austin during a recent morning at the center. Austin was heading to an exercise class while her husband, Joe, was going to a painting class. “Someday I think I’ll set up a cot,” she joked about her affection for the center and how often she’s there.
Mary Covington, who moved from Raleigh to Apex two years ago after retiring, agrees. “This is a wonderful place,” she said. “This is our tax dollars well spent.”
For Covington, the senior center is part of a new and exciting chapter in her life and, like others taking advantage of its offerings, she stays busy. Currently, she’s enrolled in four different exercise classes, as well as sign language and watercolor painting. “I’m just trying to explore a little bit of everything.”
When asked whether there is a stereotype associated with the name “senior center,” Covington answered, “I don’t think of ourselves as seniors — we’re just people with more time on our hands.”
Prelaske and Meghan Rushing, the center’s recreation program supervisor, discussed the misconceptions that surround the facility. They both agreed that people hear “senior center” and think of skilled nursing facilities or adult day care drop-off programs, which are important within a community, but the antithesis of the Apex Senior Center. “That is not us,” said Prelaske.
“Just in the naming, when you name it a senior center it definitely comes with a connotation of an old people’s home. Come and visit us; you will understand that it’s not.”
Mary Lee Blatchford, an active user of the center, shares Prelaske’s perspective. “It’s really interesting because I’m on the program advisory committee for this building and this is something that we’ve talked about a lot in terms of our own outreach efforts.
“Even folks who are on that committee say, ‘You know, in the beginning, I didn’t want to come because I thought it was all going to be, you know, folks who were in wheelchairs and unable to do things.’ And, what a revelation to realize that it was such an active program. Of course, we want to accommodate all needs. So, it doesn’t mean that you’re not ever going to see someone who’s on a walker here, because we want to be able to serve that large range. But, for folks who want to stay active, it offers a great deal.”
Diverse programming for a wide age and ability range is a key aspect of the senior center. For example, exercise classes offered at different intensity levels and programming in the evenings and on Saturdays since individuals at the lower end of the age range may still be working.
Blatchford specifically pointed out the fitness classes. “The senior exercise programs are wildly popular and are really suitable for someone who’s a younger senior, as well as somebody who’s a bit older senior.”
Place to Go, Things to Do and People to See
The entire senior center, not just its exercise classes, are popular. People who fall within the 55+ senior classification comprise half of all those participating in the Apex Parks and Recreation Department’s programming, according to Prelaske.
The center had an almost 93% increase in participation between 2022 and 2024, she said. And, last year, approximately 23,000 individuals registered for some kind of senior center programming, a number that doesn’t capture participation requiring no registration, such as 55+ pickleball open gym and the fitness center.
Despite the senior center’s popularity, it’s still a mystery to many. “A lot of people don’t know about it,” said Terry Edwards, who’s a center regular and serves on the program advisory committee. “It’s an active center and a lot of folks think they’re too young.”
The senior center is part of the Apex Town Campus on Hunter Street. It’s located between Town Hall and the John M. Brown Community Center. The facility opened in 2021 and still looks brand new. Everything is impeccably maintained, from the classrooms and gym equipment to the all-important coffee area in the main lobby, which serves as the social hub.
“I’m very connected to the senior center world and I can say, by far, that Apex, the community it has here, is bigger than any other senior center that I have been at,” said Rushing. “So, for example, after senior exercise, they’ll grab a cup of coffee, and they’ll sit in the lobby for hours and just talk and socialize. But the other senior centers you go to, they don’t really have that.”
When asking those who frequent the center why they enjoy it, an active community is a common thread in their answers.
“I think it’s vibrant,” said Kathy Waylett. “I hear people use that word a lot.”
Waylett was sitting with Maggie Verebelyi and Vicky Bloc in the lobby after a pickleball game. The women discussed the things they enjoy about the center including the pottery classes, the beautiful facilities and how it’s a place where you can just be yourself.
“People don’t actually talk about age here,” Waylett said. “There is a good variety of people and a wide variety of people from 55 to entering their 90s.”
“And, clearly they are open to learning something new and meeting different people,” Verebelyi added.
Waylett agreed. “There are those that just shut down and stay home and those that don’t. We’re the ones that don’t,” she said and smiled. “Another thing I hear people say is [the senior center] changed their retirement. The shock of retirement, the ‘Oh my gosh, what will I do with my day?’”
Blatchford echoed the vibrancy of the center and how it helps dispel stereotypes about aging. “I think that what’s astounding, really, is the vibrancy.” Blatchford talked about a class she was attending that included some people in their 80s and even a 90-year-old.
“They’re such extraordinary models to us. Not only are they healthy and active, they’re full of good humor… There’s just a great deal of vibrancy of life going on here and it’s affirming for folks to be around that. I think it gives you a model of life as a senior that you might not have had, had you not had a chance to sample it here.”
Prelaske talked about the positive effect participants have on each other. “Anyone over the age of 55 in Apex is considered a senior, so what’s 55 and what’s 100 look very different,” she said. “And, by putting that large of a population together, you have a vast number of interests and mobility levels. And I think it causes those older folks to be younger, because they come and they’re around people that are moving.”
Prelaske often hears the seniors at the center describe it as their “home away from home.” She and Rushing have also heard funny stories of adult children moving to Apex thinking they will help care for their parents. Instead, they discover their parents are just fine and always at the senior center.
“These seniors amaze me,” said Rushing. “They’re doing Pilates, barre, hanging down from silks, going on cruises — they are living their best life.”
“They are,” Prelaske agreed emphatically. “They have more of a social and physical life than any of us,” she said and laughed. “It is amazing. Their social calendars. Their purpose and the way they get involved.”
Rushing pointed out how participants continue to learn and build their personal connections. “People are coming here, and they are forging new friendships, discovering new passions and exploring new opportunities,” she said. “Not only is it a place to stay physically active, but also a place where they feel supported and valued in their community.”
Magical was the word Prelaske used. “It is quite magical what the seniors have created amongst themselves. I love coming to work and getting to watch people not only live life but thrive doing it.”
The center offers a wide variety of experiences, so each senior can find what works for them. Not everyone takes a class or participates in a club. Some come to get in their steps walking the extra wide halls. Or maybe they just come by to say, ‘Hello,’ enjoy a piece of candy from the lobby bowl and that’s it. Others may spend a little bit of time working on one of the numerous puzzles in the lobby.
Considering isolation is a concern for the older population, whatever the reason someone comes to the center, even if it’s simply just stopping in, the ultimate goal is engagement, according to Prelaske.
“They’ve gotten out of their house; they said, ‘Hi,’ to somebody. Somebody knows that they’re there. They have a purpose. And, so, we’ve accomplished what we set out to do, which was to give people a place to go.”
Blatchford has heard this firsthand. “It’s interesting, the number of people who have said to me, ‘I’m so glad I came today because, if not, I wouldn’t have talked to anyone,’” she said. “If you’re not in that situation, sometimes you forget how significant that can be.”
Clubs, Classes and Coffee — Oh My!
The Apex Senior Center may just be the best deal in town considering there’s no membership fee and classes are either free or inexpensive, especially compared to other communities.
The programming guide is updated three times a year and available online and in print. For Spring 2025, consider this sampling of things to do: line dancing, game nights, learning to play Mah-Jongg, ‘British Baking’ themed cooking class, Jordon Lake hiking excursion, day trips to see musicals, and overnight sightseeing trips.
As examples of costs: introduction to pickleball, free; seven sessions of a 45-minute high-impact strength training class, $26; six art classes using pastels and dry mediums, $18; and a global cuisine cooking class, $25. Club activities and the fitness room are free as are most of the educational programs. Non-Apex residents can participate in classes, but they must register at a later date and for a slightly higher cost.
In addition to classes and programs, the center also connects seniors to free resources, such as tax prep by AARP and understanding Medicare options with representatives from the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP). Resources For Seniors (RFS), a Wake County non-profit serving older adults and adults with disabilities, has dedicated office hours at the center. In addition to one-on-one appointments, RFS also hosts classes on topics ranging from wills and trusts to controlling cholesterol.
Public Resource Put to Good Use
The Apex Senior Center is a multi-use building that shares resources and facilities to help best serve the community. For example, the center’s conference room is often used by local organizations, such as the Apex Youth Council. Additionally, the center features a variety of rooms that can be rented for events and meetings. Since the senior center houses the town’s pottery studio and instructional kitchen, those facilities are available for other age groups when not needed for senior programming.
The senior center building is also connected to the John M. Brown Community Center building, which has an indoor gym that’s used for pickleball. The indoor walking loop runs through both buildings and residents of all ages are welcome to walk it (four laps equal a mile). Wide hallways for walking were among the suggestions seniors made during the center’s design phase.
Input and collaboration remain an important aspect of the senior center, especially with programming. Rushing said people come to her with ideas for classes and activities, which often tap into the skill set among the seniors themselves. “The seniors, a lot of them have had extraordinary careers and lives, so they are bringing what they’ve done in their lives into the center, and they’ll present on interesting topics.” Edwards, for example, has a passion for the outdoors, so he leads walks and hikes as a part of the fitness program, as well as an Outdoor Lovers Club.
The Welcome Mat Is Out
If you’d like to visit the Apex Senior Center, tours are offered anytime during business hours. On Welcome Wednesdays (first Wednesday of the month) between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., program advisory committee members are available to answer questions and give tours. For more information, visit www.apexnc.org/515/Apex-Senior-Center.
