Sterling’s Exceptional Care & Training Center expanding to a more pastoral spot

STERLING – Exceptional Care & Training Center, which provides residential and training services for area adults with profound intellectual disabilities, is planning an expansion.

It will move from its site at 2601 Woodlawn Road, next door to McDonald’s, to a vacant 25-acre spot at 1324 S. Main St., just northwest of Sacred Heart Catholic Church off St. Mary’s and West 23rd streets.

The center has outgrown its space, where it’s been since 1979, and plans to build a one-story, 85-bed facility on the acreage, part of which has been used for crops but otherwise has gone unused for decades.

The time has come.

“It’s just an old building,” said Melissa Francque, Exceptional Care’s executive director. “Our residents need more space. We want to do a lot of upgrades.

“There’s no driving force behind it other than it’s the right thing to do for our residents and staff.”

On Tuesday, the City Council agreed to rezone the site from single family to multiple family, with a special use designation to allow an assisted living facility. The neighborhood already is dotted with residential care homes, churches and schools.

It still will be a while before the new center breaks ground, however, because the state must approve its plans, Francque said. “We still have a lot of hurdles to jump through.”

The current building, built in 1964, will be put up for sale.

The center will remain an 85-bed facility, but this means it can be built to the latest industry standards. There will be more and more pleasant outdoor space than at the current facility, with less traffic and much more space for its day programs, Francque said.

The nonprofit center also is raising funds and taking donations to build an inclusive playground on the site, she said.

Exceptional Care, owned by Hoosier Care Properties of Nashville, Tennessee, offers 24-hour nursing services and individualized therapy and day training for those working toward living independently, as well as art and recreational activities and other programs for its residents and members of the community.

It has a staff of 120 full- and part-time employees and more positions to fill, Francque said.

Volunteers, including foster grandparents, also are welcome to help out with art and other programs.

Go to ectc1.org/ or call 815-626-5820 for information.