College Place works to secure funding for Community Opportunity Center

The Community Opportunity Center in College Place that will fuse a licensed child care facility with a rural library branch has support from local and state partners but is facing a funding gap.

New floor plans and external renderings show what the space could be - a two-story community center with big windows, community meeting rooms and an outdoor area for kids attending day care, steps from Lions Park.

It's a multipurpose space that incorporates services not currently available to College Place residents, City Administrator Troy Rayburn said.

But construction, including the demolition of the Lions Club building that currently occupies the project footprint, won't proceed until more progress is made toward the $8.6 million project cost.

The city is about $2.53 million shy of that number.

"We've been actively pursuing grants through the Washington State Department of Commerce, which seems to have dried up for us," Rayburn said. "I think we've exhausted our opportunities."

Community center

The first floor of the Community Opportunity Center will include a licensed child care facility managed by the YMCA, a large community room and a classroom.

The child care center, labeled incorrectly as a preschool in designs, will add needed child care spots to the Valley, Rayburn said.

"I just think that affordable, quality child care is greatly needed," he said. "I hear from young mothers, young families, occasionally a grandparent, grandmother - ‘Mr. Rayburn, what can we do with regards to minimizing the child care desert out there for working families?' And I think that is a wonderful component to this project, and a needed component for the community and the region."

In a letter of support, Walla Walla YMCA CEO Karen Hedine said the facility will give families access to quality care in a central location.

"Studies have shown that child care acts as a key component of a community's critical economic infrastructure by enabling parents to participate in the workforce," Hedine said. "This boosts productivity, reduces employee turnover for local businesses, and drives tax revenue."

The community rooms can be used for workforce training, job readiness programs, community workshops and other events.

In a change from prior plans, the building will not include a commercial kitchen, but it will have a standard kitchen for use by employees and the public.

The second floor will house the College Place branch of the Walla Walla County Rural Library District, which has outgrown its current space.

"The integration of the library in the center is an added benefit to the community and child care alike as it brings essential resources that complement and advance learning at all ages," Hedine said.

"On the one hand you have community, and on the other hand you have opportunities," Rayburn said.

Funding

Construction makes up about $8 million of the total cost estimate for the project.

The city has received grants from the state Department of Commerce and the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historical Preservation toward construction.

Rayburn said there are other grants available from Commerce but he learned that this project doesn't qualify, either because of the city's demographics or because of energy-efficiency requirements.

Commerce requires facility projects receiving funding in the state capital budget to be designed, constructed and certified to the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Silver Standard, a standard Rayburn said would increase the project's cost substantially.

"The bottom line is, we can't afford adding $2 million to the project cost," he said.

The city is also working with U.S. Sen. Patty Murray to secure a $2 million federal appropriation. That amount is included in the amount raised to date, although it is pending.

A spokesperson from Murray's office said Murray is requesting $2 million in congressionally directed funding for the Community Opportunity Center for fiscal year 2027, which begins in October.

"As she works to negotiate and pass FY27 funding bills, she will work to ensure the funding for the city of College Place is included in any legislation that the president would sign," the spokesperson said.

To close the project's funding gap, Rayburn is reaching out to local foundations and individual donors. He also wants to look at the city's options for an appropriation from the state Legislature.

While that outreach continues, other entities are signing on to support the project.

The Walla Walla Valley Association of Realtors, for example, said the investment is one that will make the community more functional and connected.

"These are the kinds of resources that help residents build skills, support working families, and make it easier for people to remain engaged in the local economy," Theresa "Tess" Smith wrote in a June 4 letter of support. "From a housing and real estate perspective, projects like this matter because they contribute to the overall livability of a community."

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