SMITHFIELD – Special Olympics Rhode Island cut the ribbon Tuesday on its new headquarters in Smithfield.
The 8,800-square-foot, single-level facility off Route 116 contains offices for 10 employees as well as a training center open to athletes and community groups. The building, formally known as the Special Olympics Rhode Island CVS/Caremark Training Center, replaces a cramped two-story office in Warwick.
“Everything that we wanted in this building we have to serve our athletics, our volunteers, our coaches, and our families,” Executive Director Dennis DeJesus said.
The new facility should reduce the organization’s reliance on outside training facilities and provide additional storage space for athletic equipment, DeJesus said.
Special Olympics broke ground on the $2.4 million project in fall 2009, with plans to open the doors in fall 2010. DeJesus said construction delays and a brutal winter pushed the move in until April.
“We didn’t want to move into the facility during middle of a snowstorm,” he said.
Saccoccio & Associates Architects and A. Autiello Construction, both in Cranston, designed and built the facility. CVS, based in Woonsocket, covered a quarter of the project’s cost through a $500,000 grant and a $100,000 contribution from its annual charity golf tournament.
