YEI! Breaks Ground on PV Residential Project

by Blake Herzog
Yavapai Exceptional Industries (YEI!), a nonprofit that provides employment, social and independent living opportunities to developmentally disabled adults, broke ground Nov. 12 on its first residential project in Prescott Valley. 
“This is the biggest undertaking YEI! has ever gone through. It’s a big deal,” Executive Director Brad Newman says. 
Sterling Ranches is located within the Eastridge development within walking distance of YEI!’s Antelope Point Industries plant, where many of its clients work. It will consist of two homes, each with about 4,800 square feet, one for women and the other for men.
They will have living quarters for up to six single adults each. Residents will have access to “Jack and Jill” bathrooms, a kitchen, large family room, and rec room also will be included with equipment such as pool tables and Stairmasters inside. There will be a barbecue and horseshoe pit in the yard. A host family suite will be between the homes.  
Like the two group homes YEI! already owns in Prescott, these residences will allow developmentally disabled adults the chance to live in a home of their own, gaining a measure of independence from their families. There will be no staff, but the host and their family will provide some guidance to the residents. 
YEI! is working with Prescott Charities Inc., a collaboration of construction industry leaders and other donors, to bring together the substantial financial resources and materials needed for the homes, which are projected to be completed in about six to eight months. 
The groundbreaking ceremony included participation from construction industry figures, Town of Prescott Valley officials, Prescott Charities board members, YEI! employees and future residents of the homes. 
Antelope Point Industries is one of three YEI! locations where its clients build wooden furniture and fulfill contracts for numerous companies through assembly and packaging of birdseed mixes, spice blends and print publications, to name a few jobs.