by April Scheinoha
Reporter
Some of the youngest and some of the oldest generations will soon be under the same roof in Thief River Falls. Discovery Place Early Learning Center will soon expand into a vacant section of Valley Assisted Living.
Next spring or fall, Discovery Place hopes to expand its operation into the vacant memory care unit at the senior living facility. It will continue to operate its current building along Nora Street in Thief River Falls.
“We have quite a long waiting list. We need childcare in our area,” said Chelsea Moeller, Discovery Place director.
Discovery Place hopes to serve an additional 130 kids at the Valley site. Moeller said Discovery Place plans to have two or three infant rooms, two or three toddler rooms, two or three preschool rooms, and one room for school-age kids. The former memory care area measures about 18,000 square feet, according to information presented to the Thief River Falls City Council.
Moeller indicated that it will take about a year to renovate the new site and get Discovery Place’s licensing in order. Discovery Place plans to lease the space from Valley.
In early 2022, Discovery Place signed a letter of intent to offer a second daycare on another parcel adjacent to the Valley site. MAK Properties LLC planned to build a facility there and lease it to Discovery Place, which sought corporate partnerships to facilitate that expansion. It also offered to sell that building to Discovery Place for $3 million. However, the deal fell through.
Estimates are that in excess of 1,000 childcare slots are needed in and around Pennington County, Advance Thief River Board President Brian Carlson told the Pennington County Board last week. Some older, in-home daycare providers have closed their businesses and there is a need for more daycare providers. As a direct result of the Advance Thief River Childcare Collaborative, 110 childcare slots were added this year. Five new daycare providers are currently in the process of being licensed.
While the deal fell through between Discovery Place and MAK Properties, MAK Properties is selling its parcel intended for the daycare back to Valley. A daycare parking lot and possible playground will be constructed on the parcel. Since this sale is occurring and it is related to the addition of more daycare slots in the city, at its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 15, the Thief River Falls City Council removed a deed restriction that it had placed on the parcel in 2022.
MAK Properties will retain its adjacent property intended for a planned multi-use building. That building, called The Angle, is expected to house 93 apartments. The bottom floor will feature 9,000 square feet of retail space and a heated parking garage.
On Tuesday, city consultant Mark Borseth told City Council members that the multi-use building will happen at some point, but it is on hold for now. However, it has been delayed due to inflation, increased materials costs, and increasing interest rates.
In November, City Council reaffirmed an economic Tax Increment Financing District for the property contingent on the now-removed deed restriction. MAK Properties will receive TIF for nine years or up to a total cost of $1.1 million, whichever comes first. The mixed-use building is the only portion of the development eligible for TIF.
As of last year, the taxes were about $250 for the MAK property. It is expected that the taxes would be close to $300,000 once the TIF district has ended. While the TIF district is in existence, taxes are still paid on the property. However, the difference in taxes is given back to the developer for the project for the agreed-upon period of time. The new taxes are used to finance costs related to the project.
Unlike other TIF districts, economic TIF districts may be approved for a total of nine years and don’t require the property owner to institute income limits for tenants. TIF can be used for such things as land acquisition, demolition, site work and utilities.
The following clarification was provided to The Times on Thursday, Aug. 24:
To the Editor:
I am writing for clarification in response to your article on Discovery Place expanding (Aug. 19 edition of the Northern Watch). Yes, we have signed a letter of intent with Valley Assisted Living to explore expansion at their site. While we are excited about this potential partnership and the many benefits this would bring the community, we are at the beginning stages. The space will need approval for use as a childcare center from the Minnesota Department of Health Regulation Division and the Minnesota Department of Health Engineering Services Section. Upon approval, we would enter into a lease agreement.
Afterwards, the project would seek available grant funding and partnerships for the necessary renovations to the space. Upon completion of renovations, licensure will be required by the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services for Childcare.
Valley Assisted Living has had the pleasure of serving the Thief River Falls region for decades and is looking forward to continuing to provide assisted living services for many decades to come. Valley Assisted Living is licensed as an assisted living with dementia provider and will continue to provide this level of service upon the completion of the project. While the space identified potentially for this project at Valley Assisted Living is currently utilized as a secured memory care unit, Valley Assisted Living will continue providing assisted living with dementia services within the facility in the event of the daycare project completion.
Amy Deacon
Northern Oaks Senior Living
Michele Hutchinson
Business Development Specialist
First Children’s Finance