A floor plan of the remodel of ACHIEVE's CWS Plant 5, which has been largely vacant since its closure in late 2021. This month, renovations will begin on the building to transform it into the new ACHIEVE facility, where all of the organization's programming and services will be moved. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — ACHIEVE, an organization that provides skill advancement, inclusion, independence, and socialization for individuals with developmental and other disabilities, will be breaking ground on their new facility in downtown Norwich on March 10.

The facility is located at 96-100 East Main Street in Norwich, and up until the end of 2021 served as the CWS Plant 5. The building was a subsidiary manufacturing facility that did packaging and kitting.

Since its closure in 2021, ACHIEVE Vice President of Development and Relations Preston Evans said the facility has been mostly vacant. In an effort to utilize the space, improve programming, and further integrate with the community, ACHIEVE's Board of Directors voted in February to move their day habilitation facility from their current location near the Canasawacta Country Club golf course down to CWS Plant 5.

"A big push both by the state, but also just in terms of our organization, is community integration, and really being out and seen in the community, whether that’s through employment, or volunteer opportunities, shopping, getting meals, whatever that might be," said Evans. "But you can’t break stigma without being out there and raising awareness. That’s the best way to do this."

The location on East Main Street currently has office spaces in the front that will be kept the same, but the warehouse portion will be getting a remodel.

Renovation plans include constructing nine "core rooms," which are similar to classrooms; installing a Hoyer Lift system, which will assist with moving visitors with mobility or ambulatory issues to different rooms; and staff support offices.

They will also be creating a café and kitchenette area, which will provide employment training for food service careers.

“[There will be}almost a full-grade industrial kitchen — not quite, but pretty hefty — that we’re hoping to utilize for some employment training opportunities, so to help individuals build up their skills possibly in a kitchen environment so they can get meaningfully employed in the community," said Evans.

A large community room that has the potential to allow for partnerships with the community and other organizations is also included in the plans.

"The plans now include a major community room to be part of this renovation that will be open to community partnerships, whether that be classes like art classes, having an art studio come in and utilize it, or even just serving as a space for other organizations to meet. We can rent it out, we can do whatever with it," Evans explained.

"We have reserved a little bit of space for future building, if there’s an opportunity that comes along there as well," he added.

Additionally, the new location will put ACHIEVE right on the Chenango First Transit line, breaking down transportation barriers for employees, volunteers, and visitors.

The large space and central location will also allow the organization to add more programs. ACHIEVE currently offers employment training, but the new facility will allow them to expand that program much further.

"The primary roles that people kind of think of for employment are custodial and food service, and so we actually are building out this employment center so we can start to help build, and partner with, the community to identify areas where we could be training people where it’s going to be meaningful to them as well," said Evans.

Respite services will expand as well to include non-disabled individuals, who can join in on outings with ACHIEVE, as a way to further the organization's integration in the community. Community-based services will also be added to the list of programs offered by ACHIEVE. Evans said those programs provide a way for individuals to go out in the community with disabled adults to help with things like grocery shopping and other errands.

In total, the project will cost roughly $4.6 million. Evans said ACHIEVE has secured some grant funding to go toward the project, and other funds will be coming from reserves from previous property sales. Additionally, the organization is waiting to hear if they will be awarded a $750,000 grant through the Empire State Development Fund, and the ACHIEVE Foundation has provided a $250,000 lead gift for the project.

A public campaign to raise funds will also be launched sometime this month.

"We have a goal of $250,000 for that, but anything we get over that just means that we have to borrow less from our reserves," explained Evans. "So we are in a pretty good position that we don’t have to do any long-term borrowing."

Ground breaking on the project will begin next week, and Evans said they anticipate approximately six to seven months until all the renovations are complete and the facility is ready to open.

Ultimately, ACHIEVE hopes the new facility will better serve the Norwich community though improved accessibility, community integration, and expanded programming.

"Really the idea [is to] do a full-scale renovation in the heart of downtown, bring all of our services into the heart of downtown," said Evans. "It’s a nice focal point in downtown and I think it's going to be really good for increasing the reputation of the organization."

More information on ACHIEVE can be found at ACHIEVEny.org.