I hope this finds you and yours enjoying the holiday season.
As we entered December, we took one step forward and one sideways on our Build-To-Thrive building project and we wanted to let everyone know where we are and what we expect over the next few months.
In great news, we finally received our fully approved building permit from Fairfax County after a 12+ month journey! Many thanks are due to our team who worked tirelessly to get us through the process and answer the many many questions from the County.
Unfortunately, the requirements the County placed on us for fire safety also caused the cost of the indoor arena to increase substantially, which we must address before we can officially start construction of the indoor arena. So, while we had hoped to begin mobilizing construction as soon as we got our permit, we need to take a few moments to determine our way forward.
In the very near term, we are working through some options with our contractors and the County to reduce the cost of the arena and also working to secure the donations and financing we need to move forward.
We are moving our herd back to O’Shaughnessy Farm today for the winter session to ease the workload for our staff and to provide a familiar environment for our riders and equine staff. We fully expect to have our path forward resolved before the Spring Session.
If you would like to learn about donation opportunities or have suggestions of others who might like to be part of our team of “final stretch heroes,” please contact Development Director Wendy Baird at wbaird@nvtrp.org. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
The needs of the children and adults with disabilities and recovering service members we serve remain the driving motivator behind this project. They are depending on us to get this built so they can ride year-round, rain or shine, getting even healthier, stronger, and more confident.
We WILL absolutely get there—we are no strangers to tackling roadblocks—and will keep you updated on our timelines as we learn more.
Many thanks for being part of the NVTRP Community.
Sincerely,
Kelsey Gallagher Executive Director