Future apartment complex may have an Early Head Start classroom

Mar. 9—LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon University Head Start program is getting the opportunity to expand its La Grande presence.

The Portland firm Community Development Partners is heading up the work to develop Timber Ridge Apartments, a lower-income housing project, on 4.79 acres on East Q Avenue between 26th and 27th streets. Community Development Partners has offered EOU Head Start a classroom in its community center at no cost.

Robert Kleng, director of EOU Head Start, said he would not dream of passing on the offer.

"It blew my socks off," Kleng said.

He said an Early Head Start program will be operated at Timber Ridge Apartments, if operational funding is obtained, when the housing project is completed in about two years. Kleng said there is an excellent chance EOU Head Start will receive the state or federal grants it needs because a structure will be in place for the program. Kleng also said he is optimistic because Gov. Kate Brown's proposed 2021-23 state budget includes significant funding for the expansion of Head Start in Oregon.

Early Head Start serves children and infants up to age 3. Regular Head Start provides education to children ages 4 and 5.

The Early Head Start program would operate five days a week, year round. Kleng said this will provide an opportunity to boost the cognitive development of children at a critical time.

"Eighty percent of brain development occurs from prenatal (before birth) to age 3," Kleng said.

The program will do more than boost intellectual development, as it also will make daily life easier for parents and guardians.

"It will give residents a chance to receive child care while they are working," said Stan Steffey of Community Development Partners.

EOU Head Start has centers in La Grande, Elgin, Union and Baker City. The organization's services are available at no cost to qualifying families in Union and Baker counties.

EOU Head Start has an Early Head Start program, but it is a home-based program rather than operating in a central location.

EOU Head Start staff make regular visits to families of children age 3 and younger. The program teaches parents how to best help with their child's development and shows parents they are a "child's first and important teacher," Kleng said.

He said families of children already in the program would be welcome in the classroom at Timber Ridge Apartments.

Contstruction at the Timber Ridge Apartments should begin in about four months, Steffey said.

"We will get started around mid-year," he said.

He said the construction budget for the project is being finalized. Once the budget is in place, the process of arranging for the start of the work will pick up quickly.

Construction of Timber Ridge Apartments, which will be owned by the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority, will take about one and a half years, Steffey said.

A portion of funding for the construction of Timber Ridge Apartments is comig from the state's Local Innovation Fast Track program, also known as LIFT. The Oregon Legislature approved this program about two years ago and it is providing funding for affordable housing projects throughout Oregon. The Timber Ridge project's general contractor is set to be CB Construction of La Grande.

La Grande Community Development Director Mike Boquist said the city's planning commission will have to approve plans before construction starts in order to ensure the project conforms to the city's codes.