New Wellston Child Care Center Under Construction, Adjacent To MetroLink Station
Construction workers are busy building a new child care center near the Wellston MetroLink station:
The Wellston Developmental Child Care Center is a key component of the Wellston Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative Masterplan. Located adjacent to a Metrolink Light Rail Sytstem (with which it will share parking) as well as being in close proximity to the Metropolitan Enterprise Center (a new job training center) will allow the Development Center to attain the goals of providing early childhood education in a depressed neighborhood, preparing children for the K-12 system, and providing day care assistance for parents training for new jobs.
The 14,650 SF building is oriented primarily on an E-W axis maximizing orientation for energy efficiency and daylighting. The building footprint had been placed on the site to minimize driveway length and take advantage of the adjacent public parking. Stormwater from the site will be handled by a series of micro-detention areas integrated with native landscaping. The program includes public, administrative, infant/toddler, classrooms and support spaces. (Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects)
I’ve requested the site plan & Wellston masterplan from the architects & county economic council, neither have been received.
The shortcut was the most direct path for pedestrians to reach public transit. It wasn’t even paved, but since 1993 it was heavily used. However, I support building on the field — especially facilities that’ll benefit the community.
How will pedestrians now reach the station?
The new child care center will use the existing parking, rather than have a separate parking lot. Still, the parking lot remains a divider between train, bus, residents, and new child care center. It’s possible pedestrian routes will be constructed in the parking lot to connect these elements. Without pedestrian connections the new construction is just transit-ajacent, not transit-oriented.
Once I see an actual site plan I’ll post an update.
— Steve Patterson
I support both public transit and the concept of shared parking, but I’m troubled and concerned that the ONLY investments being made here are by public agencies – the rail line, the parking lot, the enterprise center and, now, the development center. Where is the private sector? Are these investments actually viable in the long term? Will they require substantial, ongoing public subsidies? Or, are we just “throwing money at the problem” and hoping that something, anything “sticks”? The west is sprinkled with ghost towns, places where the mines played out and people moved on. When it comes to the rust belt, and gritty, old, industrial neighborhoods, maybe there really is nothing left and it’s better to concede defeat and just let nature reclaim the land . . . .
Many people live and work near here, a business operates just east of the station. So no need to abandon the area.
I have no problem with the public sector making strategy investments that’ll spur private investment. Unfortunately investments like the county economic development building don’t even acknowledge being adjacent to a busy transit station, it’s oriented only to a parking lot.
Public, public, public, public. JZ is correct; where is the private investment? This has been in the works for some time, could they not have approached the private sector with the idea rather than build then seek a private contractor? Same with the Development Center… these are all piece meal projects (and I’ll answer my own question: probably due to securing publican funding sources). Obviously they are planning that they kids are coming with the parents to the job development center. I agree that that this will be useful for the parents to learn new skills so that they can add to or join the work force, however then what happens? The kids can’t join mom or dad on the job so they are going to have to go somewhere. How close is the nearest elementary school so that they can continue learning? This answer will tell us if this was ‘hoping that something sticks’.
Continuing on…maybe they will put in pedestrian routes in the parking lot (don’t hold your breath), maybe they will put a sidewalk in along Werley. Maybe Greenways will invest in improving the “park” (more public money and naming a plot of land after a crooked politician doesn’t make it a park). Maybe unicorns will come dancing down the streets tossing fairy dust so that instantly a self-sustaining and viable neighborhood will take hold. If they haven’t done much in 19 years, those maybes aren’t looking very promising and it appears that many of the comments made on your “That last mile…” post are still relevant.
And with the Delmar station only .5 miles away….
So in closing… yeah, let’s just keep throwing more and more money into a project. It’s not costing us anything after all…it’s free money raining from the skies in the form of grants and subsidies. This kind of crap (oops, I mean ‘projects’) is what gives us Democrats a bad name as the spending party. JZ is right…the discussion shouldn’t be about locating pedestrian access in another piecemeal development, but should be about when is enough enough?
Sorry for the typos, even though I proofread thrice. I can’t drink coffee, pet the pesky cat, and type at the same time. Wish there was an edit key after posting. Now get down…to the cat, not from the soap box.
If you use disqus to post, there is an edit button at the bottom of your post.
I designed that building about 10 years ago while at Team 4…..I wonder if it kept the same layout or changed??? H+B is still using my original site rendering…….maybe it stayed the same……
The architect for Wellston Child Care Center is still Team 4. Hellmuth + Bicknese is serving as the sustainable design consultant.
That’s great to know!!!! Thanks for the info……it was a cool building when we started it way back.