The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services will lease a building in the Kanza Business and Technology Park for the new home of the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind (RCB). The lease with the Kansas Department of Administration is for three years, with SRS holding the right of first refusal for any additional lease period beyond three years.

RCB will become one of the first tenants of the business and technology park located on the grounds of the former Topeka State Hospital.

Under terms of the lease, the Department of Administration will renovate the building. Occupancy is expected around December 1. In the meantime, RCB will continue in its present location at 6th and MacVicar, where the center has been for more than 50 years.

RCB is the only rehabilitation program in Kansas that provides comprehensive services tailored to meet the needs of persons who are blind or visually impaired.

SRS Secretary Janet Schalansky said the new location will increase the amount of square footage for the center. The building will provide 12,070 square feet, an increase of more than 2,000 square feet compared to the present RCB location. Schalansky said the new center will include a braille library and a technology lab, where new software will assist the visually impaired in computer usage.

"With the renovation, the building will be conducive to RCB programs," Secretary Schalansky said.

SRS is in the process of securing additional apartments that provide living space to people attending RCB.

In state fiscal year 1999 a total of 109 clients were provided training at RCB.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001