Twenty-two years after its original construction, Alphapointe has broken ground on an expansion to its Life Skills Campus, located at 7501 Prospect in Kansas City, Mo., where Fairyland Amusement Park once stood for over half a century.
The orange areas above of Alphapointe's Life Skills Campus located on the southeast corner of Prospect Ave. and 75th St. are currently under construction. Image courtesy of Alphapointe
The construction will include a 20,000 SF structure featuring precast panels and bar joists. The new facility will house manufacturing equipment to meet increased product demand, a portico for convenient employee drop-off during inclement weather, and approximately 30 additional parking spaces to accommodate the expanded staff.
Electrical power and domestic water utilities will be extended from the existing building. New HVAC units will be installed, and a new sanitary sewer system with underground roof drains will be connected to the existing mains outside the building. Alphapointe is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides education, rehabilitation, and advocacy for people who are blind, while also offering them employment opportunities. With nine locations across four states and a workforce of 400 employees—more than half of whom have vision impairments—Alphapointe is one of the largest employers of people with vision loss.
Employees support the manufacturing of plastic products for a wide range of clients, including the federal government and commercial customers such as Office Max. Over 100 product lines, ranging from pens to prescription pill bottles, are produced using extrusion blowing and injection molding technology. This expansion at the Life Skills Campus will enable Alphapointe to increase output and provide additional employment opportunities.