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Hayden — Locals snagged a sneak peek last week at the new Haven Community Center on Shelton Lane.

About 50 people attended the May 21 open house, hosted by the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association. Participants voted on possible exteriors for the new building, which VNA officials hope will be finished this fall.

Those who voted chose a look that is similar to the Haven Assisted Living Center next door. Officials with Aging Well, a VNA program, wanted the community center to have a complementary feel to the existing Haven.

"We're really excited," Aging Well Program Coordinator Dace Kramer said. "It really gives us a good feel to be able to walk through it. What the evening was about was letting the people of Hayden get in and walk around and see what was happening here."

The evening included refreshments, tours and tunes by local musician Greg Scott. The new building will include an Internet cafe, a workout area, a community room that can be sectioned off for events and a kitchen expansion. That will enable the VNA to add an adult day program for those who don't live in a nursing home or other facility but need extra care.

The building is about half finished, Kramer said. TCD is the general contractor.

"A grand opening date hasn't been set, but we anticipate that it will be complete by late fall for sure," Kramer said. "We've had a very good working relationship with TCD. They've been incredibly diligent in working through winter."

Last week's event also served as a starting point for a community fundraising campaign, she said.

"The capital campaign we've been working on has been for construction," Kramer said. "We thought for our capital campaign it would be good for people to contribute to the outside, for the kind of trees and shrubs and flowers that people would like."

The group has a head start.

"We're very pleased and proud to say that our first contribution was from the staff at the Haven, from a collection they took up," Kramer said. "And it was a substantial one: $250."

Staff members at the Haven have opened up an account at Mountain Valley Bank in Hayden, she said. The account is in the VNA's name, and those who would like to make donations can do so through the bank.

Kramer said she doesn't know what the cost will be.

"We want the outside space to be as pleasant as the inside space is," she said.