California residents wanted community space. Some died waiting for it to be built
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- Residents raised funds since the 1970s, yet a 6,000 sq ft main hall remains unfinished.
- Groups use the partial center, but lack of power, insulation and walls limits events.
- Completion would provide a fire evacuation site; ongoing delays risk safety in high-hazard zone.
Brenda Starbird and her gardening club members longed for a community center to meet in Placer County and swap cultivation tips for their green spaces.
Meadow Vista’s gardening club lasted for 68 years before it disbanded in 2022 — and its horticulture aficionados never had a communal space to meet. For decades they had hoped to gather in the community center that residents of Meadow Vista, an unincorporated area, have spent decades trying to build. Now, Starbird said she is the last living gardening club member.
“All gone, all passed away, and we’ll never get to see that complete,” Starbird said.
Starbird wonders if she will live long enough to see the Meadow Vista Community Center complete.
“To see it done,” Starbird, 86, said. “It’d be pretty special. I would be very pleased, but I’m not sure I’m going to make it either.”
Since the 1970s, residents in Meadow Vista have held fundraisers, including plant sales and fishing tournaments, to raise money to build a 7,500-square-foot building. Those efforts raised enough money to construct portions of the center, such as a 900-square-foot room, but its main meeting space remains in a skeletal state with exposed posts and beams.
The Meadow Vista Community Center, located at 1101 Meadow Vista Road, could also serve as an evacuation site if a fire rips through the area, residents said. The area is located in a high fire-hazard zone, according to Cal Fire.
Residents raised enough funds to begin construction in 2005, but about $800,000 is still needed to complete the main room. The cavernous space, about 6,000 square-feet, lacks electricity, insulation and walls, said Fred Eichenhofer, the board chair for the Meadow Vista Community Center nonprofit. He added increased costs of materials has also delayed the project.
Some community organizations use the completed space for their events. But more weddings, birthday parties and other milestone celebrations could use a space large enough to accommodate every guest, Eichenhofer said.
Eichenhofer’s company, Sierra Pacific Real Estate, hosts an annual Oktoberfest to help raise funds. He estimated the festival raised about $130,000 in 19 years.
“It has a lot of potential,” said Stewart Feldman, a Meadow Vista resident. “Especially when that room gets finished.”
The Oktoberfest, a free event, is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday in downtown Meadow Vista at 16898 Placer Hills Road. There will be live music and food and drinks for sale.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Stewart Feldman is a Meadow Vista resident. His first name was misspelled in an earlier version of the story.