Imagine a bright, modern facility where children and adults with disabilities can learn, play and gain skills that help them become self-sufficient.

 

Today, Arc’s central San Diego Center at 3035 G St. provides those important programs for more than 100 clients, but the building is old and deteriorating. The brightness comes from the promise of a new facility.

 

“The Arc of San Diego plans to build a modern facility that will be used by generations of Arc clients, families and the community,” said Skip Covell, president and CEO of Arc.

 

Located in the Petco stadium redevelopment corridor in the city of San Diego, the San Diego Center serves individuals and families in the lowest per capita income and home ownership area of the five Arc service centers in the county. The Arc of San Diego is the only organization that has a facility in central San Diego serving the developmentally disabled population in the community and greater downtown area.

The center opened in 1963 and has been making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, giving them the opportunity to choose and realize their dreams. For many of these individuals, The Arc is their exclusive resource for bettering their lives and reaching their full potential.

 

This location houses an employment program, recreation activities, seniors programs and classrooms for instruction in vocational development, art and American Sign Language.

 

Arc’s Community Employment Services program (ACES), Personal and Leisure Services (PALS), and Community Living Services (CLS) have had a direct impact on this community in terms of economic development and self-sufficiency. The Arc of San Diego received the U.S. Department of Labor’s EPIC Award for Exceptional Public Interest Contribution for economic development and self-sufficiency program for persons with disabilities.

 

The continued success of these programs rests with Arc’s ability to provide proper facilities for the services. A 16,000-square-foot, two-story building will be constructed on the property. The new center will include a community room, classrooms, garden and fountains, meeting room and administrative building. The development plans for the center will allow The Arc of San Diego to provide increased services to this community.