JAN. 29-FEB. 4, 2024 SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 7 NEWS Construction begins on $9M housing development in Marshfield community hese days, the health benefits offered by employers can be just as important as the hiring salary. Offering health insurance doesn’t just benefit your employees, but makes you, the owner, more competitive in today’s job market. Call for a free consultation. Occupational Medicine | Immediate Urgent Care Direct Primary Care Plan (DPC) | Supplemental Insurance 1308 N. Glenstone Ave.| Springfield, MO 65802 | 417-832-1117 Knows the secret... to providing affordable healthcare 2215 W. Chesterfield Blvd., Suite 30 Springfield, MO 65807 (417) 408-8822 | info@smb-cpas.com Expertise you can trust. We allow you to focus on what you do best – running your business! • Business and individual tax preparation & consulting • Monthly accounting, bookkeeping & financial statements • Audit services for small business, nonprofit and low income housing • Real estate development and tax credit expertise Pictured L-R: Matthew Blackwell, Partner, Jacob Sanders, Managing Partner, and Chris Myers, Partner. by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net While this month’s weather has challenged construction progress, a multimillion-dollar affordable housing project in Marshfield is underway. A Jan. 4 groundbreaking kicked off work on Jordan’s Place, a 40unit housing development for adults with disabilities and senior citizens that officials call a first-of-its-kind project in Webster County. Jackson-based RCH Development Inc. is general contractor for the roughly $9.7 million project designed by Columbia-based Wallace Architects LLC. Officials with a pair of Webster County-based nonprofits, WC Partners and WC CapeAbilities, have worked for the past couple years to make the development a reality. WC Partners, a 501(c)(3) which rebranded in 2016 from the Webster County Senate Bill 40 Board, provides support for county residents with developmental disabilities and their families. That support includes case management services through a private contract with the Missouri Department of Mental Health with the goal of providing clients with the aid needed to live and work in the community. WC CapeAbilities, another 501(c)(3) organization, was organized by WC Partners in 2021 with the intent of working with the Missouri Housing Development Commission to increase the availability of accessible housing within the county. Katrina Detherow, executive director for WC Partners, and Joyce Fenner, chair of WC CapeAbilities, were among those in attendance at the ceremony, which took place on a 6-acre area adjacent to a Mercy clinic near the intersection of Spur Drive and Highway OO. “When we finally got to the groundbreaking, we were ecstatic,” Detherow said, adding the project idea began three years ago. The facility’s name has special meaning for Fenner, as it pays tribute to her son, Jordan Estes-Fenner, who died by suicide in 2015. She said her son previously was hit by a drunk driver and sustained a traumatic brain injury, adding it prevented him from holding down a job and led to depression. “Not being able to get housing, not being able to work, he just lost all hope and really got down on himself,” she said. Addressing a need Client service has grown substantially for WC Partners since it began case management in 2012, Detherow said. County school districts and Missouri First Steps, a state program that offers coordinated services and aid to young children with special needs, refer Jordan’s Place is designed for seniors and adults with disabilities See MARSHFIELD on page 23 provided by WC PARTNERS Katrina Detherow: WC Partners plans to break ground for a new office building in a month. SENSE OF PLACE An artist’s rendering shows the front entrance to Jordan’s Place, a 40-unit housing development under construction in Marshfield near the intersection of Spur Drive and Highway OO.
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