Asset Plus Companies Begins Construction of New Fort Bend County Youth Ranch Teenage Homeless Shelter

HOUSTON, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Asset Plus Companies' employees work with housing and young people day in and out. But this month, they are using their talents in a different way: to benefit abused, troubled and homeless children in the Fort Bend County area. Asset Plus and the Fred and Mabel Parks Youth Ranch (FMPYR) have started construction of the Youth Ranch Teenage Homeless Shelter, which is scheduled to open in September 2010.

"There is currently no homeless shelter in all of Fort Bend County," according to Asset Plus CEO and member of the FMPYR Board of Directors, Michael S. McGrath. FMPYR, which is a not-for-profit 501(C) (3) organization composed of representatives from various Fort Bend churches, recognized and is responding to this need for crisis intervention and short-term shelter for children aged 12 to 17 who have faced abuse, neglect and are in need of a temporary home until they can be reunited with their families, placed in foster care or placed for adoption if necessary.

The Youth Ranch will continue to seek a variety of grant types and private funding to build the shelter while work continues to develop and construct the crisis portion to serve all families and youth in the Fort Bend County area. Asset Plus is donating the construction management of the facility, which will cost about $1.3 million. The Fred and Mable Parks Foundation and the George Foundation have made generous donations to the project.

Arrow Ministries has been selected by the board to operate the facility when complete. "We will have offices for Arrow, CPS and other services on site to help reunite these kids with their families or find alternatives for them. This will hopefully get kids off the street or keep them out of jail," said McGrath.

Construction officially began on Friday, March 5th with a group of Asset Plus employees demolishing an existing structure on the site and preparing it for new concrete and standing walls. "I'm very pleased that Asset Plus is involved in this effort, which is such a positive addition to our community," added McGrath.

Asset Plus Companies was founded in Houston, Texas in 1986 as a third-party property management firm specializing in providing a variety of real estate services to investors, developers, and institutional owners of multifamily, student housing and office/retail property types.  In 1998, the company expanded its' student housing presence and formed a student housing division, Asset Campus Housing, which is presently one of the largest privately owned student housing companies in the country.

SOURCE Asset Plus Companies