So near and yet so far. That describes the place Jasper Ridge Farm finds itself in now that the nonprofit has run into more delays on building a new home at Webb Ranch.
The organization, which uses animals to provide comfort and healing for children who are ill or in other stressful situations, had planned to put up earlier this summer a modular barn and fencing on a two-acre site at Webb Ranch, located at 2720 Alpine Road, just west of Interstate 280.
However, unexpected requirements and costs keep popping up in the permitting and construction process, so things are on hold, said Wendy Mattes, executive director of the program.
“We will have to ramp up the capital campaign again, and simultaneously find more vendors to donate or discount their services,” she says.
Several vendors had stepped forward with offers to help after hearing about the program’s plight, including the distance the animals — three miniature horses, two sheep, two goats, four rabbits, two guinea pigs, a chicken and a cat — were being shipped from their temporary home in Gilroy to visit with children on the Midpeninsula.
The animals used to live in Woodside and were slated to move to Webb Ranch within a year or so, but, for starters, it took more time and money than expected to get county clearance on bringing utilities to the site.
As a year turned into two, donors pitched in hundreds of thousands of dollars to start work on what was estimated to be a $450,000 project.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place in March, a construction fence went up, and piles of building material were stacked on the site. Then came another holdup: the estimate to excavate grew from $25,000 to $200,000.
Ms. Mattes said Grove Construction responded by offering to donate some earthwork, and made “a wonderful deal” on concrete. Soils engineer Richard Kolterer offered to volunteer his time.
“I’m overwhelmed by the goodness of humanity,” she said, but admitted she is still concerned about the future.
Meanwhile, the barn-raising date is not set. The animals, staff and volunteers continue to travel to fulfill their active summer schedule at places such as Ronald McDonald House and Holbrook-Palmer Park. And Webb Ranch continues to provide lesson horses for the children and veterans who are participating in Jasper Ridge Farm’s special riding sessions.
Go to jasperridgefarm.org for more information.
