With just under six months to go, Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) hopes to raise the last $4.3 million needed to construct the Training for Life campus in Jefferson City.
Earlier this year, SOMO officials announced the planned Training for Life campus project had been awarded to Jefferson City over a competing bid from Columbia. The proposal, submitted by the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, included 15.5 acres near U.S. 54 and Missouri 179 donated by Land Investments, which is run by Bud Farmer, Mike Farmer and Frank Twehous.
This month, the organization announced it had raised $11.5 million toward the planned project, though that estimate includes the land donation, valued at roughly $3.3 million. Gary Wilbers, capital campaign chair, said a stipulation with a grant SOMO received for the campus requires the land value be included in the overall cost of the project, which increases the figure from $12.5 million to construct the campus to $15.8 million to include the land value.
The grant, which was received in May, is a challenge grant from the Maybee Foundation, of Tulsa, Oklahoma. If SOMO is able to complete its fundraising by April 15, 2016, the foundation will award it $1 million.
Once the fundraising goal is met, a construction timeline for the facility will be set, but it is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
Wilbers said more than 700 businesses and individuals have donated to the project so far, but officials are hoping for more involvement to reach the full amount by April.
"Every little bit helps," Wilbers said. "It's changing daily. ... We're progressing in the right direction."
SOMO's website for the planned campus also highlights its economic impact on the area, stating the "estimated economic impact from tourism by athletes alone is expected to be between $227,124 and $378,541 in the first year of operation. In addition, one coach or chaperone usually accompanies every four athletes."
Wilbers said the organization worked with the chamber to come up with that data, noting every athlete and visitor will stay in hotels, eat out and shop while in the Jefferson City area. He said the numbers of room nights and meals were calculated using an estimate on the number of athletes attending each training camp the organization plans to host.
Wilbers said SOMO hopes to have 30 camps in the first year, but would like to increase that amount in future years.
"We plan on only growing," Wilbers said. "There will be a continuous economic benefit to it, plus Jefferson City will have something ... that is really nowhere else in the world."
There also will be an increase in jobs at the campus, he said, as the central area office in Columbia will close and relocate to Jefferson City's location. Including the existing jobs at the current headquarters in Jefferson City, the campus will have 30 permanent jobs.
Wilbers said state tax credits for the project will expire before the fundraising deadline, so the organization is hoping to attract more donors before the end of the year, when the credits from the Missouri Development Finance Board expire. The Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits expire in March, he said.
Anyone interested in donating to the SOMO Training for Life campus or learning more about the project can visit somocampus.org.