Child Crisis Arizona on Jan. 18 broke ground for a planned 38,000-square-foot campus at 424 W. Rio Salado Parkway in Mesa. The project is slated for completion in mid-2024.

READ: Child Crisis Arizona HQ building planned in Mesa

In attendance were local dignitaries including Mesa Vice Mayor Francisco Heredia; major funders including Janis Merrill, Kathye Brown and Erik Olsson; Thunderbird Charities; and board members, according to a release.

For more than 45 years, Child Crisis Arizona has served the Valley’s vulnerable children and families and is committed to preventing child abuse and neglect through education and intervention. The nonprofit offers emergency shelter and residential for children and youth from birth to 21 and offers foster care and adoption services, early education as well communitywide parenting classes, workshops, support groups and much more. Since 1977, Child Crisis Arizona has positively impacted nearly 100,000 children and families. Its vision is “Safe Kids. Strong Families.”

New campus

Spanning 2.4 acres, the two-story campus puts sustainability at the forefront and build for future generations. Architectural Resource Team is the architect on the project and Chasse Building Team is the general contractor.

“Child Crisis Arizona has experienced unprecedented program growth especially in its early education programs. This growth meant our staff members and programs were sprinkled throughout the Valley as we didn’t have adequate space,” Torrie Taj, CEO of Child Crisis Arizona, said in the release. “To give perspective, in 2022, across all programs, the agency served over 7,500 unduplicated individuals. This campus will offer additional program space for both Child Crisis Arizona and partner organizations to provide transformational programs focused on impact for underserved children, youth, and families. Establishing this new campus will centralize Child Crisis Arizona operations and leverage synergies with partner organizations.”

The new campus will become the new home to services for low-income children and families including:

• Foster care and adoption services
• Family education
• Children’s counseling
• Health and wellness, including medical screenings and basic needs
• Centralized kitchen and food distribution
• Centralized administration and philanthropy
• Foster teen programs
• Art, dance, and music therapy
• Volunteer and staff training
• Collaborative partnerships

According to Jodi Stoken, chief development officer, there are several strategic collaborations planned once the campus is completed with such organizations as Ballet Arizona, United Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona.
 
“Though the Child Crisis Arizona campus will have a deep, everlasting impact on the community, it will have a very small impact on the environment,” says Barry Chasse, founder of Chasse Building Team. “It will be a net-zero project, meaning the campus will generate as much energy as it uses during a year.”

“We are using a biophilic design throughout, meaning deliberate incorporation of things like natural lighting and ventilation, natural landscape features and other elements for creating a more productive and healthier built environment for people,” says Doug McCord, principal at Architectural Resource Team. “It will meet the highest level of standards for Indoor Air Quality and attain a Living Futures Petal Project Certification upon its completion.”