URTLECREEK TWP., Ohio — Solid Rock Church has contracted with Woolpert to provide concept architecture, civil engineering, floodplain analysis and survey services for a new group foster home on its North Campus between Lebanon and Monroe, north of Cincinnati. The 30,000-square-foot, ranch-style facility will provide full-time housing for 36 boys ages 11-18 in Ohio’s foster care system.
Restoration Ranch will be adjacent to a horse ranch owned by Solid Rock Church Pastor Lawrence Bishop. The horse ranch is located off Union Road near the church, which is visible from Interstate 75. Woolpert Architect and Program Director James Dobrozsi said the facility will feature Southwestern-style architecture like the church but will have its own distinct style.
“Woolpert is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a project that has such important social impact,” Dobrozsi said. “The church has a long history of providing support to the youths of our community, and we are happy that they chose Woolpert to contribute to their goals.”
Dobrozsi said Woolpert performed a floodplain analysis and provided services to comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulations for construction of the nearby Miami Valley Gaming and Racing facility and is providing civil and transportation engineering services for that facility’s expansion.
In addition to separate bedrooms and shower rooms to accommodate different age groups, Restoration Ranch will feature two recreation rooms, a dining hall, a commercial-grade kitchen, space for equine therapy, and office space for administrators, therapists and medical professionals.
Bishop said the church recently was licensed by the state to provide foster care and adoption services, and the new facility will complement an orphanage the church runs in Brazil. Bishop said they hope to open the facility by this fall, but they will take in up to 12 boys before that by converting an existing building on the church campus. The boys will work with and care for the horses, and the older boys will be taught how to live independently as they transition into adulthood, he said.
“There are more than 16,000 children in Ohio who need homes, and churches and ministries need to be the answer. The Bible tells us to take care of the orphans and the widows,” Bishop said. “I want this facility to be so nice they won’t want to leave, but the end game is to get them adopted into families.”
