Downtown adult day care business heads north

Adult Tendercare owners cite client increase, space needs for move

by Paul Schreiber

SBJ Reporter

pschreiber@sbj.net

As droves of new businesses enter downtown, one 16-year-old urban tenant is exiting.

Adult Tendercare Center plans to move from 301 Park Central Square to 3729 N. State Highway H in early 2005.

Owners Bill and Clarene Shepherd say the reasons are threefold: need for more interior space, need for more parking, and an opportunity for clients to get outdoors.

The Medicaid-funded business employs 11 and provides daily care to 40 individuals age 18 or older who are mentally or physically impaired, Bill Shepherd said. The company also accepts private payment.

The Shepherds have acquired 2.6 acres north of I-44, where they are building a 9,500-square-foot facility.

According to an Aug. 16 Greene County commercial building permit, the new structure will cost $520,000. Great Southern Bank financed about $300,000 of that amount, Bill Shepherd said. The remainder came from a Small Business Administra-tion loan.

An arrangement with the Veteran's Administration of Fayetteville, Ark., could net Adult Tendercare as many as 22 new clients veterans who live in southwest Missouri and need day care services, Clarene Shepherd said. This won't happen, however, until the relocation is complete.

"We will be receiving some additional folks," said Clarene Shepherd.

Now licensed to serve 60 clients, the new building could accommodate up to 80, Bill Shepherd said.

New owners

The 66-year-old, 5,200-square-foot building at 301 Park Central Square that houses Adult Tendercare was purchased in September 2003 by SWDFOR LLC and is owned jointly by David and Gloria Roling and Richard Clark, Gloria's brother, said David Roling, a manager at Conco Companies. It is the first downtown property of SWDFOR LLC, said Roling, who was "waiting for the maturity of the downtown area."

Adult Tendercare's move opens the door for a new downtown tenant. The property was purchased as a rental property, Roling said.

Roling's preference is to lease to a single tenant who would preserve original amenities and artifacts like ceiling treatments, terrazzo work and edged glasswork.

Adult Tendercare will continue to occupy the building until construction of its new site is complete, Roling said. He would not disclose the purchase price or lease arrangements.

According to the Greene County Assessor's Office, the commercial appraised value of the property is $91,500 and its assessed value is $29,280.

The move

Adult Tendercare's new location will expand operations from its current 6,000 square feet to about 9,500 square feet, Bill Shepherd said. Building features will include a central area for daily residents, a kitchen, cafeteria, offices, classroom, library, TV viewing room and bathrooms.

The general contractor for the project is Steven Plymire; the architect is Allen Casey of The Casey Associates Inc., Shepherd said.

Part of the rationale behind the move is to give residents the opportunity to get outside, Shepherd said. Amenities allowing that use will be an outdoor patio area, picnic tables, lounge chairs, a small walking track and a privacy fence tied together with landscaping.

Adult Tendercare was founded in 1988 by Clarene Shepherd's parents, Dr. Clarence Ketch, a retired Southwest Missouri State University professor of sociology, and his wife, Virginia. The Shepherds purchased the business from the Ketches in 1998 and hold it under Shepherd Support Services LLC, Bill Shepherd said.