This local mom plans to open a child care facility in Pierce County with 60-plus spots
For over three years a Key Center building has sat empty. A local mom sees it as a perfect place for an early learning facility.
The red building at 15610 92nd St. NW is owned by the Key Peninsula Fire Department. It was formerly O’Callahan’s restaurant.
KPFD purchased the building in 2021 for $950,000 and the two parcels behind it for $1.175 million. The idea was to bring a new station and training facility to the district. It’s all been sitting empty since the purchase. At one point, the department was in conversations to lease the red building out as another restaurant, which could generate some revenue, but those plans fell through.
When asked why it’s been sitting empty so long, Key Peninsula Fire Chief Nick Swinhart told the Gateway the district did not have any immediate plans to build a new facility in the near future after the purchase. He said they knew it would take several years to do, and that in the meantime they explored other options — like leasing it to another restaurant.
But, after that plan did not work out, “I think that there was some feeling among some of the commissioners to not jump into another lease agreement right away,” Swinhart said.
Alyssa Johnstone, 30, wants something different for the building’s future. She thinks it’s perfect for a new early learning child care center. She lives in Home and has four kids ages two months old to 11 years old.
She posted to Facebook and made other residents aware of her idea Dec. 29.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about this building and what’s going on with it,” she wrote. “My name is Alyssa and I have big plans.”
In her post she said that she and KPFD have discussed a possible sale. She told the Gateway that at the end of summer she approached the district with the idea of opening a child care center there.
In the summer, community members were once again talking about what it could be turned into, she said. Others suggested it could be another restaurant, a food truck space, and a farmer’s market location. Johnstone thought of child care, which is a big community need, she told the Gateway.
“I know it’s got some bad juju on it right now, but I’d like to turn that around,” Johnstone said, referring to the fact that the building has been sitting empty with an uncertain future. “I’m going to bring more child care to the Key Peninsula.”
When asked his thoughts on the idea to turn the building into a day care, Swinhart said: “If the district has no further use for that building, and if the district receives an offer that the commissioners find suitable, I think it would be great to see it turned into something that benefits the community.”
Initially, she proposed to lease the building. After a few walk-throughs, she considered the amount of work she’d need to do and thought purchasing the building was a more financially responsible choice.
The department and Johnstone are in preliminary conversations about what that purchase would look like. She’s interested in just the red building and the land it sits on, not the two parcels behind it, she said.
The department is “definitely amenable to the idea,” and they were “very excited about it,” Johnstone said.
Johnstone will go in front of the board and give a presentation Jan. 23, she said. Then the negotiation stage will happen.
The purchase would need to go before the board for final approval, Swinhart said. Johnstone is hoping that can happen in the very near future, she said.
If the deal goes through, “the commissioners will decide what, if anything, is done with the remaining parcels,” Swinhart said.
“Some of the possible options will be discussed more in depth in the coming strategic planning process,” he added.
What kind of work the building will need
The building, which needs a new roof and repairs to the septic system, would also get additional updates to become an early learning center.
Not every building can be a day care, Johnstone said. They need commercial kitchens, outdoor space, exterior exits or a sprinkler system, bathrooms, adequate square footage, and more.
She has experience turning buildings into day cares, and this building almost has all of those things that she would need, she said.
She’d like to build out six to seven classrooms inside, each assigned to a separate age group.
Outside, she wants to add a big sign. The building’s color would most likely change to a light gray with bright embellishments.
“I am picturing really bright doors, bright window trim,” she said.
She would replace some of the existing exit doors and add some new ones.
Eventually she’d like to repave the parking lot, but would start by filling the large pot holes that are there.
She said contractors and the septic company have come out and given her estimates.
She estimated she’ll be able to take about 66 kids ages six weeks to five years old. She’s pushing for a June opening if possible, but her main goal is to be open before the fall 2024 school year, she said.
Most of the construction needs to be completed before she can apply for an early learning program license. She said it will take about 90 days for her to get one through the state Department of Children, Youth & Families.
Construction should take about three months, she added.
Hours are to be determined. Typically early learning centers follow a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule, but Johnstone said she’ll cater to her community, which may need the facility to open at 5:30 a.m., or offer a later pick-up time like 7 p.m.
Before and after school child care for school-age kids is what she wants to offer next. One idea is to place a portable building on the property. She could also expand and purchase another nearby building to have additional space for the school-age kids.
She said hopefully after a year or two she’ll have the means to afford that addition for school-age kids. If she can get funding for it sooner, she’ll do it as soon as possible, she said.
One won’t be enough, she said
Johnstone said this would only begin to address the need for child care on the Key Peninsula.
“There’s not enough child care anywhere,” she said. “It’s a drastically under-served community. There’s a lot of factors that play into it and it’s a tall order to bring child care to a community that has such limited commercial areas.”
One option on the Key Peninsula is co-ops.
Co-ops are centers that can only provide care for kids under the age of 12 for no more than four hours at a time, Johnstone said. Because they are unlicensed by DCYF, co-ops generally do not take DCYF subsidies that help families pay for child care.
“Anytime you provide care for any child under the age of 12 for more than four hours, you have to be licensed by DCYF,” Johnstone said.
Many child care facilities also have wait lists, Johnstone said.
Johnstone estimates right now the Key Peninsula and surrounding communities need at least 400 additional child care slots, and that could still be undervaluing the need, she said.
Background in building child care centers
Johnstone, who went to school for business management, worked in sales and marketing until she took a job after college as an accountant. Then about six years ago she made the choice to pivot to child care.
Accounting didn’t make her soul happy, she said. Child care does.
Her childhood friend owned a day care building, Children’s University in Lakewood, and needed a teacher. Johnstone took the offer and started working there about six years ago.
“While I like to say I chose child care, child care also chose me,” she said.
She worked her way up through the business from a teacher in the classroom to an assistant administrator. In the middle of COVID-19, while Johnstone was directing Children’s University, she and the owner had the opportunity to expand and open another location called Brilliant Beginnings, also in Lakewood.
Currently Children’s University is expanding and will soon be able to offer more child care slots, Johnstone said.
What is early learning?
Although it’s often called day care, Johnstone prefers to call it an early learning center. She emphasized that the kids are all working on different skills and hitting certain milestones.
In an infant classroom they’re working on things such as holding their heads up, smiling, sitting up, engaging, and later on eating table foods at around six months.
One and two-year-olds dive into social and emotional learning such as sitting at a table, lining up nicely, washing their hands, sharing toys, color identification, and singing the ABCs.
It’s the same type of structure for three to five-year-olds, who are putting it all together in order to be ready for kindergarten. They work on following multiple step instructions, writing their names, and how to articulate feelings.
Accessible, reliable and affordable
“I always say child care needs to be accessible, it needs to be reliable, and it needs to be affordable,” she said.
She said the building is very accessible for Key Peninsula residents.
“I pride myself in running very reliable child care centers,” she said. “We have ample staff so if someone is ill they can stay home and the children in our care can still attend and parents can still go to work.”
As for the affordability piece, she’ll offer private pay options that will reflect prices in the surrounding areas, she said.
Also, being a licensed child care center would allow families that have a DCYF subsidy to join the day care.
Johnstone is not taking names for a wait list yet. If the sale goes through, she said she will post online about how families can join.
She said she will also be looking for employees, investors, contractors and plumbers, among other help. Those interested can reach her at alyssajohnstone93@gmail.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this article had a typo in the email address for Alyssa Johnstone. Her email address is alyssajohnstone93@gmail.com.
This story was originally published January 16, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
