NICEVILLE — Since opening in 2009, the Emerald Coast Autism Center has outgrown every facility it has used, including its current Valparaiso location.
Signing a lease with Northwest Florida State College will provide more space for the center. The $1 annual agreement provides land on the college’s main campus for construction of a 15,225-square-foot facility; ground-breaking is in September.
The new facility will provide an increased number of classrooms that will allow ECAC to accommodate more students with its predominantly one-to-one student-to-teacher ratio.
In addition to classrooms, the facility will have a multi-purpose room, a climate-controlled indoor playground, an outdoor playground, speech and occupational therapy rooms, a conference room and a computer lab. For vocational students, the new ECAC will have a Life Skills room for students to practice independent living skills.
Academically, ECAC serves pre-kindergartners through second-graders.
WANT TO HELP?
Emerald Coast Autism Centeris raising funds to build an approximately $2.5 million facility on Northwest Florida State College's Niceville campus.
Contact the center, 279-3000 or www.ecautismcenter.org, for more information.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: E.C. Autism Center signs lease with Northwest Florida State College