MADISON LAKE — Everyone has moved in at All Saints Catholic Academy in Madison Lake. New routines are being established based on the added space and convenience, and next steps are, invariably, being considered.
Cost for the building that fits in between the old and new All Saints Church structures, providing a secure entrance, offices for church and day care administrators and the maintenance worker, and better day care facilities was about $1.4 million. Original bids came in at $2 million, but they were able to trim features and, ironically, save some money with changes that benefited the project.
Those benefits included not sheet rocking over some windows, which brings in more natural light. Fire safety is provided, instead, by the addition of sprinklers. A mural of Jesus with children was placed on a blank wall above the entrance to the day care rooms to set the tone for the care provided.
In this new entrance space, where the ceiling was raised to also provide a more open feeling, parents can unload car seats and backpacks before handing over their kids. Temporary tables may be replaced by cupboards and a counter after they find what works best.
“We had our infants in the basement, and infants are either in a crib or on the floor,” said the Rev. Robert Schneider. “Now we have hot water heat in the floors of this whole new building.”
The new space allows them to increase child care opportunities by 24, up to about 100.
A connection to the elevator added to the church in 1997 makes the area accessible on that side; the older building with older children is not fully accessible, however. Escape doors out of the day care rooms increase safety in case of emergency.
Offices flank the space directly inside the new secure entrance in a building that fills the formerly empty space. Schneider’s office is on the right, other administrators on the left, assuring nobody can enter the building without permission. His office provides privacy, while shaded windows allow people to see what’s going on inside.
It also eliminates the cold, often windy, walk between buildings with children and meals, with access through retained arched doorways. One window at the point of the building was added, some saved and others added as construction progressed. Another space above the entrance is decorated for the season.
“We think (it turned out) way better than we imagined,” Schneider said. “I don’t know if it could be better. So far, we have no regrets.”