Dexter Laundry recently began construction on a new state-of-the-art self-service laundry on Burlington Ave in Fairfield. The 6,000 sq. ft. building will include the laundry as well as accommodate additional retail outlets.
Pictured is the front elevation rendering of the New Dexter Laundry facility under construction at the intersection of 4th Street and Burlington.
“We are excited to bring a new facility and retail space to Fairfield. The corner of Burlington and 4th Ave. has been a self-service laundry for over 50 years. We want this location to better serve the community plus highlight Dexter equipment made right here in Fairfield,” states Andrew Kretz, President & CEO of Dexter Apache Holdings.
The laundry will occupy 3,000 sq. ft and serve as a showcase store for Dexter’s worldwide network of commercial laundry distributors and service technicians.
“We routinely host customers from around the globe; a functioning showcase store will allow us to display our products and train our customers on best installation practices and service techniques,” says Craig Kirchner, President of Dexter Laundry.
The remaining 3,000 sq. ft. can accommodate one or two future tenants, including the option of a drive-up window. “The new building will be one of the most attractive in town, giving our community something to be proud of and potentially attract new businesses to Fairfield,” explains Kirchner.
Fairfield Economic Development Association’s, Executive Director, Joshua Laraby says, “Dexter Laundry continues to give back to Fairfield and their further investment of this stunning new facility in our community is very exciting. This new center will not only be a globally visited demonstration site for their customers and a state-of-the-art laundromat for the public, but it will also add to Fairfield’s portfolio of available retail space. This will be helpful in attracting new business to Fairfield.”
The project is expected to be complete in the spring of 2019. The current laundry will remain open during construction and will later become additional parking once construction of the new facility is complete.
For more information about the available retail space, contact:
https://growfairfield.com/wp-content/uploads/dexter-laundry-fairfield-iowa-fairfield-economic-development-association-feda.png3141076Grow Fairfieldhttps://growfairfield.com/wp-content/uploads/Grow-Fairfield-logo-standard-22.pngGrow Fairfield2018-08-25 18:23:152018-08-27 14:51:55Dexter Laundry Begins Construction on New Laundromat and Retail Space
This month, Pekin Child Care Center will be expanding the child care services and adding 12 infant spaces.
The center currently serves 168 children and once the 12 new spaces open, this will bring the total number of children served to 180.
Currently, Pekin Child Care Center has:
An infant room for children for 6 weeks of age to 1-years-old.
A transition room for children age 1-years-old to age 2-years-old.
A multi-age room serving ages 2-years-old to 5, a room structured similar to preschool, to meet each child’s developmental needs.
They also offer traditional preschool that serves 4-year-olds and also offer before and after school care to school age children.
Currently, the center employs 24 staff members and they will be adding one additional full-time staff person to support the expansion and some part-time staff will also transition to full-time.
Co-directors of the Pekin Child Care Center, Janet Conger and Gina Swearingen, and Administrator Kim Ledger expressed the expansion was driven by the center’s waiting list for infant spaces. They have had expecting parents reaching out to them for a spot on their waitlist. With this, they said the twelve expansion spaces are already filled.
The Pekin School District had an existing building on their campus that historically had many uses over the years, though most recently was unused, making the building available to be repurposed. The school district donated the building to the Pekin Child Care Center and it was relocated directly adjacent to the existing center. The building has been under renovation this past summer and is now completed. Conger, Swearingen and Ledger worked with the Department of Human Services and the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s to meet building code requirements for the renovation of the building. The cost of the project was supported by private donations, the Pekin School District’s SAVE (Secure and Advanced Vision for Education) and sales tax dollars as well as center funds.
Looking forward, the leadership plans to expand the transition room for children age 1-year old to age 2-years old in the next few months to accommodate children as they age out of the infant room.
The Pekin Child Care program started in 1991 and moved to its current location in 2001 and began their infant program that same year. They have a level four out of five on the Iowa Quality Rating System and the infant staff receives PITC [Program for Infant and Toddler Care] training through Child Care Resource and Referral. The center also participates in the Iowa Positive Behavior Support Program. This sets child expectations of behaviors, rules to operate by, and provides teachable moments to support appropriate behaviors. Finally, they participate in the State Child Care Assistance Program and the Iowa/Jefferson/Keokuk Early Childhood Iowa Preschool Scholarship Program to assist families with costs of tuition.
Kim Ledger said, “Pekin Childcare is committed to providing a quality service to the community. We take great pride in our long history of quality ratings and strive to develop programs that developmentally meet the needs of all the children we serve. We are supported by the Pekin School District, local businesses, and families who also strive to improve the greater community. We are pleased to be in a position to expand our daycare facility in response to our community’s needs.”
Pekin Child Care Center has a long-term relationship with Indian Hills Community College to provide field experience for their Early Childhood Education Program. They also work with the Pekin School District on a cross-age mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors that pair them with a child at the center.
The Jefferson County Child Care Steering Committee, the Fairfield Economic Development Association, and the Iowa/Jefferson/Keokuk Early Childhood Area Board commissioned First Children’s Finance to complete a Child Care Market Analysis to better understand the child care market in Fairfield and Jefferson County. The Child Care Market Analysis showed there is a shortage of 137 infant spaces in Jefferson County. Parents that participated in the market study identified a licensed center or a registered child care development homes as their most preferred options for providing care to their children.
Pekin Child Care Center is serving 39 families with 57 children employed in Fairfield and they are serving 24 families with 38 children, living in Jefferson County. In total, the center serves 95 children whose parents work in Fairfield or Jefferson County.
Tammy Wetjen-Kesterson said, the Iowa/Jefferson/Keokuk Board, “is looking forward to continuing to partner with Pekin Child Care Center to assist them with their expansion. Their expansion to provide quality early education and care to children helps to meet the child care challenges in Fairfield.”
Joshua Laraby, Executive Director for Fairfield Economic Development Association stated, “Pekin Child Care Center has been providing quality care for families working in Fairfield for many years. Although we have work to do to create additional spaces in the area, the expansion of these 12 infant spaces is very helpful in reducing the gap that we are experiencing. The center’s successful growth over the years, including this expansion, is a testament to the center’s leadership.”
For more information about Pekin Childcare Center’s services, contact:
Co-directors, Janet Conger and Gina Swearingen 641-661-2028
https://growfairfield.com/wp-content/uploads/feda-pekin-child-care-logo-economic-development.png289404Grow Fairfieldhttps://growfairfield.com/wp-content/uploads/Grow-Fairfield-logo-standard-22.pngGrow Fairfield2018-08-19 08:23:172018-08-20 02:14:27Pekin Child Care Center Expands Infant Care
Maharishi School Children’s House is expanding their child care and preschool services at the start of the new school year, by adding 24 new spaces for children.
They will now offer child care and preschool services to fifty-nine children this fall, compared to 35 spaces in the 2017-2018 school year.
Their new expansion will now have one classroom serving sixteen children ages eighteen months to three-year-old. They will have two classrooms serving forty-three children ages three-year-old to six-years-old. They will also be adding eight children to their afternoon program. This will expand full-day services to forty-two children. The expansion of services has resulted in hiring additional staff.
Michelle Svenson was recently hired as the new director of the Maharishi School Children’s House. She started with Maharishi School Children’s House in January 2015 and served as an assistant teacher and lead teacher before assuming responsibilities as the director in June 2018. Maharishi School Children’s House is a licensed center with the Department of Human Services and the child care and preschool services are open to anyone in the general public. They also participate in the State Child Care Assistance Program and the Iowa/Jefferson/Keokuk Early Childhood Iowa Preschool Scholarship Program to assist families with costs of tuition.
Michelle Svenson, said, Maharishi School Children’s House offers a unique Montessori style classroom and an Arbor Day Foundation Nature Explore playground. “The Montessori classroom is filled with a pleasant ‘hum’ as the children are working and playing. Each room is filled with concrete materials that teach the children abstract concepts. Children are free to choose anything that is “available” on a shelf and know they can work with it as long as they like. They return it to the shelf when they are done. This environment grows capability, independence and a lifelong love of learning.”
Svenson also shared, “the certified Arbor Day Foundation Nature Explore playground allows the children all the space to collaborate, play, create and build. The free play that happens on our playground is the perfect complement to the Montessori classroom. Concepts of early consent, respectful listening, emotional intelligence and social problem solving allow children to thrive in our environment.”
Maharishi School Children’s House is currently in discussion about a further expansion in the school year 2019-2020, but have not yet galvanized the consideration.
In January 2018, the Jefferson County Child Care Steering Committee, the Fairfield Economic Development Association, and the Iowa/Jefferson/Keokuk Early Childhood Area Board commissioned First Children’s Finance to complete a Child Care Market Analysis to better understand the child care market in Jefferson County. The Child Care Market Analysis showed there are shortages in the number of child care slots for two-year olds, and full-day, full-year preschool for three and four-year olds. Parents that participated in the market study identified a licensed center or registered child care development homes as their most preferred options for providing care to their children.
Tammy Wetjen-Kesterson said, the Iowa Jefferson/Keokuk Board, “is looking forward to continuing to partner with Maharishi School Children’s House to assist them with their expansion. Their expansion to provide quality early education and care to children helps to meet the child care challenges in Fairfield.”
Joshua Laraby, Executive Director for Fairfield Economic Development Association, concluded with, “We see it essential to continue assisting in the facilitation of expanding child care services in the area. Child care services serve as vital infrastructure for growing and retaining our local workforce. Maharishi School Children’s House expanding their services will help address a segment of the gap we are currently experiencing in Jefferson County.”
For more information about services at Maharishi School Children’s School House, contact:
Michelle Svenson, Director
michelleEsvenson@gmail.com
641-472-9400 x5100
https://growfairfield.com/wp-content/uploads/msch-picture.jpg960720Grow Fairfieldhttps://growfairfield.com/wp-content/uploads/Grow-Fairfield-logo-standard-22.pngGrow Fairfield2018-08-07 16:44:512018-08-07 17:02:55Maharishi School Children’s House Expands Preschool and Child Care Services
