School District, Kids Place Settling In At Renovated 103 Central Building

The Glenwood Community School District is back in its newly remodeled home on the former Glenwood Resource Center campus.

The 103 Central building, the district’s home for its Kids Place daycare and central offices for more than three decades, underwent a remodel and infrastructure update this spring and summer. The now nearly–completed 93-year-old building is fully operational with its newly branded Lakin Childhood Development Center on the first two floors, the district’s central office on the third and its THRIVE and APEX programs occupying the fourth floor.
Funding for the $4 million project came from a variety of sources, including $1.7 million from the districts Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) fund, a $1.4 million Child Care Business Incentive grant, and a $1 million donation from the Kids Place Childcare Champions’ fundraising efforts.

In April, the district inked a 25-year lease – at the cost of $1 per year – with the Glenwood Redevelopment Corporation to remain in the 103 Central building. The agreement was the final hurdle for the district to begin its renovations to the building that began in the spring.
The GCSD’s programs and staff have all returned to the building, but work does remain. Glenwood Superintendent Nicole Kooiker said the “punch list” items that include installation of the Lakin Childhood Development Center signs, updates to west doors walkway, paint touch ups and some small fixes “here and there.”

“There is still some work,” Kooiker said. “There’s not very much but there’s a handful of things. Our HVAC system is up and operational. The air conditioning is working very well. They are still waiting on some parts. The heating system is in as well, but it has some temporary parts.

Theres a few parts coming in they need to be switching out. And then we are working through a small list of items.”

Kooiker expects the majority of the final punch list items to be completed in October with final completion coming some time in November.

The response to the newly renovated building has been positive, according to Kooiker. Work does continue and it’s still technically a work in progress, but staff are making do.

“I feel like people are excited to be in the building,” she said. “The programs are all working very well together. They know when they need to stay separate when there is pick up and drop off. I mean, there is really a lot of students in this building right now.”

The building has staggered start times with the majority of childcare children arriving before 8 a.m. with APEX and THRIVE students arriving between 8-8:30am.

“So, we’re keeping things separate, we have the stairwells that can be used if needed and the elevator is working and operational,” Kooiker said. “We’ve got our secure entrances back. Our interior doors are all locked. People have individual codes to be able to get in and out if they come here on a regular basis. Otherwise, they still have to buzz in like we had before. I think it’s working really well. So far, we haven’t had any major bumps in the road.”

The biggest change visitors will notice in the building are on the first two floors occupied by the childcare center where Kooiker said there are “drastic differences” from new flooring and cabinets to new drywall, tile floors and new carpet in the vestibules. All the bathrooms in the building were also updated.

“There are some drastic differences there,” Kooiker said of the first two floors.

But she cautioned that much of the work, and the finishing touches aren’t always so visible when taking in the entirety of the project’s $4 million budget.

“You don’t see most of it, right?” she said, “Because it’s behind the walls. It’s the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical.”

Kooiker went on to say, “not even a million dollars was for the things that you see.”

“So, if people are going to come up here and think we’re going to have marble countertops, we don’t. We used cost effective measures. We were fiscally responsible. We did things we thought would last and look good for a long period of time. We did it the best we could saving as much money as possible while still meeting the needs and providing the spaces that were conducive for student learning.”

After months of work and the finish line clearly in sight, Kooiker said the district lucked out with no major surprises challenging its financial restraints. The project, she said, is actually under budget.

“We have not used much of our contingency funds which has been a celebration as well,” she said. “We can use those (contingency funds), of course, for other projects or things that break down or need to be fixed in the system. It’s been really good. There haven’t been any large surprises. Like I said, there’s been a few small things, but people have worked with us to fix things and address those items in the best way possible. The most affordable way possible.”

A banquet recognizing donors to the project is planned for Nov. 14 at the high school. The event is the district’s way of thanking the school board, the community donors and community workers and businesses that assisted the project.

“There has been a lot of people that have really stepped up to make this happen,” she said. “And it serves the community by having a childcare center here that serves not just the school district entity but also serving a variety of kids throughout the building. This is a community project, and we couldn’t have done it without people. So, we’re going to have a big banquet night to thank them. I’m excited about that.”