Tom Neal, Veronica Aranda, Kathy Schlotfeldt, and Dave Haugeberg at the Groundbreaking Ceremony
On May 31st, 2024, MV Advancements held a groundbreaking for our new headquarters. The building will be at 600 SE Baker Street in McMinnville and cover 7,100 square feet.
This project has been in the making since 2019 and has been a long time dream for our organization. While it will serve as office space for the MVA team, it will be much more than just an office building.
“We acquired the property in 2019 but the actual building was a dream of the board of directors for many years,” Kathy Schlotfeldt, MVA Executive Director, said. “The pandemic forced us to put the project on hold, but that allowed us to incorporate more heart into the design.”
To start, it is being built from the ground up to be accessible in every way possible. This started at step one, the initial property purchase. The plot MVA purchased in 2019 from Linfield University was sought after because of its close proximity to a bus stop. Many of the people we support rely on public transportation and the fact that they can easily take a bus to access MVA was crucial.
With the building itself being fully accessible, we thought it should also serve to spread accessibility to the community. This will be done through opportunities to educate people about intellectual and developmental disability services, and the Assistive Technology Resource Center.
The Assistive Technology Resource Center will support collaborative efforts with the community to bring about wider knowledge & adoption of assistive technology by coordinating assessments, accommodations, training, equipment loans, and other resources. We are so excited to bring this service to those we support, and to the community around us.
Tom Neal is an MVA Board Member and has been the Chair of the Design & Build Committee, which led the efforts behind the project. He is beyond excited to see the building begin construction, and all the work come to fruition.
“My job was to calm the team down and explain the highs and lows of getting a project like this off the ground,” Tom said. “The biggest barrier was probably getting the cost estimate down to a budget we could afford.”
When the project officially kicked off in 2019, the initial estimated cost was much lower than what it is now. With the pandemic and all the years that have passed, construction costs have skyrocketed. It is because of the diligent work of Kathy, securing multiple grants for the project, and our loyal supporter base that this project was achievable.
“I think this building will make the organization more efficient and productive; and will definitely raise the morale of the MVA team and those we support,” Tom said. “I look forward to the smiles on their faces as they put this wonderful facility to use.”
Those smiles may come as soon as April 2025. The Design & Build Committee and our partners at Andrew Scott Construction and CIDA Architecture are working tirelessly to complete this project as quickly as possible. They have set a goal end date between April and June 2025.
MVA wants to say thank you, to all of you who have been here supporting us through this journey, and for helping make this dream of a new home for MVA come true. We look forward to hosting you for a ribbon cutting in 2025!
