L-R: Contractor Larry Levey, The Arc of Livingston-Wyoming Executive Director Chris Peterson, and SWBR Architects Principal Thomas R. Gears break ground on a six-bedroom home that will serve individuals with disabilities in Livonia.

The Arc of Livingston-Wyoming broke ground Monday, April 2, on a new residence located on Turtle Rock Road in the hamlet of Lakeville, in the northeast corner of Livonia, NY. The Turtle Rock IRA (Individualized Residential Alternative) will meet the needs of an aging consumer population by allowing six mature residents with disabilities to live as independently as possible in a community-based setting.

"2006 marked the 30th anniversary of our agency's residential program, and each year, the needs of our consumers have changed and grown,” says The Arc of Livingston-Wyoming Executive Director Chris Peterson. “We work very hard to ensure that our array of services and facilities meet those needs. The Turtle Rock IRA benefits from three decades of real-world experience offering residential services to an ever-changing population of individuals with disabilities.”

The 3,638 square-foot ranch home, which will be completed in fall 2007, will be handicap accessible, including a barrier-free design for wheelchair mobility, automatic door openers, widened doorways, lowered counter spaces, and roll-in showers. Certified by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) Department of Quality Assurance as a Chapter 21 Impractical Facility, the home will also include a sophisticated sprinkler system, in addition to a hardwired smoke and heat detection system.

The Turtle Rock IRA is the first Arc of Livingston-Wyoming residence to be funded through OPTS (Options for People Through Services), an OMRDD program designed to help provide individuals receiving services and the agencies that serve them with affordable options that promote inclusion and personal choice. It is also the first Livingston-Wyoming residence in the Town of Livonia. Larry Levey Contracting of Geneseo is the general contractor for the project, and SWBR Architects of Rochester is the architectural firm. Prior to the Turtle Rock project, SWBR served as architect for The Arc of Livingston-Wyoming's recently opened Eric Grammas IRA, located on Groveland Road in Geneseo.

“I had the opportunity to attend the opening of the Eric Grammas IRA and experience first-hand the consumers’ pride in their new home,” says SWBR Principal Thomas R. Gears. “You know that a project is special when you see people living in appropriate spaces, with smiles on their faces.”

For additional information, contact The Arc of Livingston-Wyoming Public Relations Director Jeff Thomas at jthomas@lwarc.org or (585) 658-2828 ext. 128.

L-R: Dan Fitzpatrick (Arc), Martin Miskell (Arc), Marcy VanZandt (Arc Board VP), Chris Peterson (Arc Executive Director), Deborah Tuckerman (Arc), Dave Newton (SWBR), Thomas R. Gears (SWBR), Larry Levey (Contractor), Dayna Cohen (Arc), and Jim Shute (Arc) at the Turtle Rock IRA groundbreaking ceremony in Livonia.