A nonprofit providing horseback riding to children and adults with disabilities since 1984 is nearing the finish line for a $2 million facilities project that will give the Washtenaw County non-profit a permanent, year-round home.

Construction of the 18,000-square-foot enclosed and heated Harold and Kay Peplau Therapeutic Riding Center for Therapeutic Riding Inc., is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 1, said Jake Haas, a TRI volunteer and board member who is serving as the volunteer construction manager.

The project also includes two smaller buildings on the 46 acres on Morgan Road in rural Pittsfield Township.

The new center will include an indoor riding arena with radiant heat, an observation room, classrooms, a 15-stall barn, offices, restrooms and a tack room. There is also a residence, built by construction students from Washtenaw Community College, for the on-site barn manager, and a separate barn for hay storage. The new facility will allow TRI to run year-round and offer new classes and programs.

The new facility is expected to take up to 25 people off of the waiting list, which averages between 70 and 90 children and adults. Some 80 riders are now served by TRI. About 18 percent are adults.

“We knew that if we wanted to expand the program, we needed to expand the facility,” said Jan Vescelius, director and head instructor.

TRI offers horseback-riding lessons to physically and cognitively impaired children and adults, starting at 3 years old. The program provides therapeutic benefits to the riders, improves self-esteem and provides fun.

Riders have disabilities that range from cerebral palsy, autism, Down Syndrome, Parkinson’s Disease, among others, Vescelius said.

TRI has been housed, rent-free, on a farm on Joy Road owned by former Domino’s pizza owner Tom Monaghan.

While the facility allowed TRI to triple its size, it had its limits, Vescelius said. Because the barn isn’t heated, the program closes each winter. There are no indoor bathrooms and the size limited the number of riders who could be served.

“It’s hard to put capital funds into something you don’t own,” she said.

The new center will allow TRI to offer classes such as stable management and serve new populations, such as disabled veterans. Vescelius said she would also like to expand the program to include disabled senior citizens.

The capital project was quick out of the gate with a $1 million donation from the Peplaus. It was followed by a pledge from the Lloyd and Mabel Johnson Foundation to match donations up to $250,000. A partnership among the Johnson Foundation, the Legacy Land Conservancy and TRI allowed the center to be built, Haas said.

The foundation, which owned the farmland, donated it to the Legacy Land Conservancy, which sold it to TRI at a price significantly below market value, he said.

TRI is wrapping up the $2 million capital campaign, said Judy Dobson, a TRI volunteer heading up the fund-raiser. Some $25,000 still needs to be raised to receive the full $250,000 from the Johnson Foundation, but the rest has been secured, she said.

In addition to the capital campaign, TRI must raise operational funds each year, Dobson said. The annual budget is $238,000. Ridership fees only cover about 20 percent of the expenses.

While construction should wrap up by Nov. 1, the 10 horses won’t be moved until mid-December, when the current session is over. It will be another month, Vescelius said, before classes are offered again in order to offer the horses a chance to settle in.

“”We need to give the horse time to acclimate,” she said. “Most of them haven’t been off the farm for many, many years.”

Once the dust settles, Vescelius said she’s like to see TRI continue to grow. “Our five-year plan has us building another indoor arena and doubling our capacity,” she said.