The Tanaina Child Development Center announced Tuesday that it's moving to the Alaska Regional Hospital — almost exactly a year after the popular nonprofit was asked to leave its longtime space at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Scott Hamel, president of Tanaina's Board of Directors, said the child care center will likely open in a 9,000-square-foot space in the hospital in late August. The preschool currently enrolls 56 children but will immediately grow to enroll 90 children, ages 18 months to 5 years old, he said.
It will also start a new after-school program for elementary school students, and eventually a new program for infants, Hamel said.
The child care center once gave preference to the UAA community, but will now reserve about half of its spots for the children of Alaska Regional staff, with the other spots open to anyone in the community, Hamel said.
In return, Alaska Regional will provide the space for Tanaina rent-free for at least 10 years, said Kjerstin Lastufka, Alaska Regional's public relations and marketing director.
"It's a great benefit for our employees," Lastufka said.
Hamel said he expects roughly 40 children to make the move to the Alaska Regional space, after a group of current students graduate to kindergarten.
The Alaska Regional space once housed a pediatrician's office, Lastufka said. Hamel said Tanaina is trying to raise $200,000 by May to help pay for the construction of classrooms, a kitchen and children's bathrooms.
"It's what they call a shell space — basically just concrete floors and pipes," Hamel said. "It's a blank slate as we say — very exciting."