Springbrook Expansion to Bring Jobs, Improve Quality of Life for Developmentally Disabled Students and Families

“The Springbrook expansion will change lives for the better on several levels and will pay future dividends, both economically and socially.  The project will provide quality jobs at a time when the area economy needs a boost.  It will produce long term savings to the state, something every single taxpayer can appreciate.  And, most important, the expansion will improve the lives of children with developmental disabilities and their families," said Senator Seward.

Springbrook project expected to create jobs, add school

By Jake Palmateer

The Daily Star

MILFORD _ Construction on a $22.5 million expansion at Springbrook is slated to begin next month.

The initiative will change the face of the 77-acre campus off state Route 28 and is expected to create 112 jobs ranging from maintenance positions to teachers, according to the plans.

"This whole campus is going to be affected in one way or another," Springbrook Facilities Director Tom Ford said.

His comment came before a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon in a field that attracted more than 150 guests and 200 staff and students at the home and school for the developmentally disabled.

The school at Springbrook currently serves 76 children and will be renamed the Tom Golisano School at Springbrook in honor of the philanthropist who pledged $2.5 million for the project.

The expansion will include an autism school for 36 students, including 24 new children from New York state who are either in out-of-state facilities or at risk of leaving the state. New buildings or additions include three duplex-style homes, classrooms, a gymnasium, a kitchen and a cafeteria. Renovations will be done on much of the existing school. Bus stop, parking, driveway and sewer and water improvements are also included in the project, according to the plans.

State Sen. James L. Seward, R-Milford, and Assemblyman Pete Lopez, R-Schoharie, were also at the ceremony.

Seward said once completed, the expansion will have an economic benefit of $5 million annually for the region. It will also save the state $900,000 annually because fewer students will need to be sent out of state for treatment, he said.

The expansion will also sustain or create many construction jobs during the building period, Seward said.

"It's important for our local economy, especially at a time when good news on our local economy is hard to come by," he said.

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