MassDevelopment.com: Press Room: $1.9 Million MassDevelopment Bond Supports Challenge Unlimited Program Expansion at Andover's Ironstone Farm

$1.9 Million MassDevelopment Bond Supports Challenge Unlimited Program Expansion at Andover's Ironstone Farm
April 23, 2008

Contacts:
Alicia Tildsley, MassDevelopment, 617-603-3120
Deedee O'Brien, Challenge Unlimited, Inc., 978-475-4056

MassDevelopment today announced the issuance of a $1,908,000 tax-exempt bond for Challenge Unlimited, Inc., a non-profit organization headquartered at Ironstone Farm in Andover. The recreation and rehabilitation program uses horses, riding, and the working farm as educational and therapeutic tools to help people with and without disabilities. Challenge Unlimited is using bond proceeds to refinance the existing mortgage on the 14-acre Lowell Street property, making it possible for the organization to acquire the property and four additional acres adjacent to the farm.

The new facility will house an after-school program, music and arts therapy, and theatre-arts classes for children with disabilities. When build-out is completed, Challenge Unlimited plans to create six new jobs and serve between 100 and 200 additional individuals each year. Ironstone officials anticipate opening the new building in Fall 2008.

"MassDevelopment is pleased to provide this low-cost financing to support a program that fills a critical need in the Commonwealth," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "Money realized from the bonds will help Challenge Unlimited expand its recreational and therapeutic program offerings, while making Ironstone Farm an even more enticing place for Massachusetts residents of all ages to visit."

Founded in 1960 as a breeding and training facility for thoroughbred horses, Ironstone Farm features scenic pastures, woodlands and ponds, as well as horses, donkeys and a variety of other wildlife. The farm allows visitors to learn to care for, communicate with and ride horses in a recreational environment. Established at Ironstone in 1983, Challenge Unlimited, Inc. provides therapy for people with a wide range of physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities ranging from autism and Down syndrome to cerebral palsy and cancer. Founded in 1998, the Ironstone Therapy program emphasizes hippotherapy – a method that employs a horse’s movement to address physical, occupational and speech therapy needs. Challenge Unlimited and Ironstone Therapy serve approximately 480 individuals weekly, year round, from more then 82 cities and towns throughout Greater Boston, the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire.

"As a nonprofit organization that relies largely on donations, the savings generated through the financing package from MassDevelopment was critical to the success of our expansion project," said Deedee O’Brien, executive director of Challenge Unlimited. "The new arts facility and its music and theatre-based programs will add a new dimension to Ironstone Farm’s educational and rehabilitative capabilities."

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY 2007, MassDevelopment financed or managed 211 projects statewide representing the investment of more than $2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of more than 1,280 new housing units and more than 11,000 permanent or construction-related jobs.