NORTH ANDOVER — When the town's elder services staff moves out of the Senior Center next week for construction, they won't have to go far.

After a fruitless few months of searching, they have found a temporary home just a couple of blocks away.

The department will operate out of 85 Main St., starting Nov. 3.

The 12,000-square-foot space will serve as a drop-in center for seniors seeking information, and a spot where they would meet for day trips and for medical transportation.

"We finally have a home," said Irene O'Brien, elder services director. "We'll have a sitting area and coffee pot on. It'll be a gathering point for people to touch base. ... Folks are very attached to each other."

North Andover's center — adjacent to Town Hall at 120 Main St. — is undergoing major renovations.

The renovation will expand the medical clinic, reconfigure rooms so they are more accessible, and create a living room out of what used to be a garage. They also want to offer a place for people to sit and wait for rides.

The project is being paid for by $50,000 in fundraising from the Friends of the Senior Center and another $91,476 from the Community Preservation Act.

The Senior Center will be under construction through January, for roughly 13 weeks if all goes as planned.

The Friends of the Senior Center also is covering the rent at 85 Main St. as a gift to the town.

O'Brien has been able to find homes for the 52 programs in churches, schools, local businesses, the library, the youth center and Town Hall. Bingo will be moved to St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Main Street.

It also will use the same telephone number — 978-688-9560.

For a complete list of classes and programs in November, people can stop by the new location for a newsletter. The lunch program and Meal on Wheels will be hosted at North Andover Housing at Bingham Way during construction.

O'Brien said they could have operated out of the Hermann Youth Center on Johnson Street if they hadn't secured this spot, but they would be "cut off from the seniors."

"It's already going to be difficult for staff, as well as the seniors," O'Brien said. "Change is hard."