In this episode of Laying the Foundation, host Skyler Gorsett sits down with Principal Architect Courtney Koch to explore the innovative Kids Express Daycare project, which transforms an empty nursing home wing into a vibrant intergenerational facility. Listeners can expect an engaging conversation covering how adaptive reuse addresses rural childcare shortages, the unique architectural and code challenges of designing for both young children and older adults, and how intentional shared spaces foster meaningful connections that benefit both generations and strengthen the entire community.

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Episode Transcript

(Skyler Gorsett): Welcome, everybody, to another episode of the Laying the Foundation podcast. My name is Skyler, your host. Joining me today once again is Courtney Koch from our Sioux City office, one of our principal architects. Courtney, welcome back to the show.

(Courtney Koch): Thank you. Like I say every time, I love being here, and these are always so fun.

(Skyler Gorsett): Absolutely, it's always a good time with good conversation. Today we're talking about Kids Express Daycare. This is a really interesting project we were discussing right before recording, where we are taking two areas that most people would see as very different and putting them together into one space. When people think about childcare and senior living facilities, they usually don't think about them together. How did this project come to be, and are we pioneering a whole new pathway here?

(Courtney Koch): From my perspective, this is a new pathway. The Kids Express Daycare board came together with an idea, and actually, the director of the nursing home facility approached them saying they had an empty wing. This happened as part of the fallout of COVID, leaving that wing out of service for the last few years. They reached out to the board at Kids Express to discuss potential partnerships because Kids Express was running out of room with a long waitlist. They couldn't take many more children from the community due to space limitations. They considered building an addition or a brand-new facility, but this solution presented itself as something new for Sanborn to try. It has been exciting going through design, bidding, and now construction, seeing how all these pieces come together into a relationship that works beneficially for both senior living and childcare.

(Skyler Gorsett): It is interesting because we see this often with daycares, they are completely full, and it's either a lack of staff or a lack of space.

(Courtney Koch): That's exactly right. In smaller rural communities, there is a childcare crisis and a daycare desert. Without childcare opportunities, it becomes very hard to stay employed in those communities, as parents typically need to take their children to the town where they work or relocate entirely. Enhancing the numbers Kids Express can take on and providing that service locally will intentionally keep people in the community.

(Skyler Gorsett): Right, we need people to fill jobs and stay in their respective communities. Is this wing going to be their new location altogether or an expansion?

(Courtney Koch): This is a new location. They are able to increase their numbers exponentially and focus on how students learn, how to divide spaces by age, and how to provide services for everyone.

(Skyler Gorsett): You were approached by both Kids Express and the senior living group interested in this collaboration. What opportunities and challenges were we up against when trying to design or redesign this space for two very different generations?

(Courtney Koch): That is one of the big things to think about. When you see an empty nursing home wing, it looks fine, move-in ready, and ready for kids. However, there are so many differences in how those communities come together. Code requirements are huge in order to protect the children in the facility. While senior living codes exist, they are different from how childcare care is provided and constructed. Much of it also comes down to size differences, senior living serves full adults, while childcare serves little kids. As much as the wing looked ready to move into, it just wasn't, which is why the process takes time, documentation, and renovation to impact children at their level rather than just making a senior living wing work.

(Skyler Gorsett): That's why we were called in, because they couldn't just drop kids off into the space.

(Courtney Koch): Exactly. You don't want parents dropping off kids with the experience of checking into a nursing home. They need their own entry and process of entering the childcare facility versus visiting grandparents at the nursing home. It gives them an identity, a sense of security, and a distinct approach to their day.

(Skyler Gorsett): From a functionality standpoint, what are those moments going to look like when these two groups come together?

(Courtney Koch): It needs to be controlled, not a free-for-all where kids run down hallways unsupervised. We still need levels of compartmentalization and security so everyone stays safe in their respective spaces. However, we want to create intentional interactions, bringing seniors into the childcare side to read books, do activities, art, and music exposure, and having children visit senior living residents to participate in their activities. Upcoming seasonal events like Halloween and Christmas provide awesome opportunities to see seniors' faces light up when they see the children, or for kids to see relatives in that environment. The facility is constructed around a courtyard that will become part of the childcare playground space, allowing residents to look out their windows and watch kids play, completely activating that courtyard.

(Skyler Gorsett): Last year when we took our son trick-or-treating at a senior living facility, it was a lot of fun having the residents interact with the kids, hand out candy, and look at costumes. There is a really awesome correlation there. For the spaces where they interact, how are we designing for safety, access, and the active energy of kids?

(Courtney Koch): They have separate spaces but also shared zones for when they come together. Focusing on the childcare renovation, we have interior spaces for activities and long corridors, which fit a nursing home wing perfectly, where kids can ride scooters during the winter when they can't go outside. These spaces allow kids to have their own area while being able to come together when seniors visit or when they move over to the senior living activity center.

(Skyler Gorsett): For collaborative projects like art, the space is safe, accessible, and provides opportunity.

(Courtney Koch): Exactly. Growing up next door to a nursing home, I went every Saturday to help with activities, play bingo, shuffleboard, and make popcorn, and I hope that same experience happens here.

(Skyler Gorsett): With children in early childhood development and seniors who are 70 or 80 years old, what are we hoping each party gains from these interactions?

(Courtney Koch): They can gain so much. Children get exposure to a different generation, hearing life experiences, learning from them, and understanding aging as a natural part of life. On the flip side, seniors get childlike exposure, connectedness, a renewed sense of purpose, participation, and a way to break down intergenerational isolation. Adults in the middle bracket are often grinding through childcare and caring for aging parents, so having this connection happen naturally relieves some of that daily pressure.

(Skyler Gorsett): Grandparents love seeing kids, and the contagiousness of children's energy and laughter brings positivity and invigoration to senior residents.

(Courtney Koch): Yes, and not every child has grandparents in their hometown, so having those adults make an impact is great.

(Skyler Gorsett): It's a very unique collaboration that could serve as a broader model for society if we look at what we might be wasting by keeping generations separate.

(Courtney Koch): Everything we've learned points to that renewed sense of bringing those groups together.

(Skyler Gorsett): What kind of benefits will the community see from this project?

(Courtney Koch): It meets the need for childcare while saving empty or underutilized buildings from sitting vacant. Instead of building new every time, we become more resourceful, good stewards of our community resources, supporting both childcare and senior living while giving back something everyone can pour into.

(Skyler Gorsett): Much like schools, spaces don't have to be singular in purpose; versatility opens new opportunities. This project will be a staple in the community, housing two vastly different generations and connecting everyone through events and activities. It opens up opportunities to keep people in town and create new jobs.

(Courtney Koch): Exactly. Communities always need to look for those resources, consider different partnerships, and see what is possible with what they have.

(Skyler Gorsett): Kudos to the community organizations and to you and your team for this project. Thank you so much for sharing the story and vision of this project, Courtney.

(Courtney Koch): Thanks for having me on, Skyler. This is a fun one.

(Skyler Gorsett): Absolutely.