The Tanaina Child Development Center will open at St. Mary's Episcopal Church on May 12 after the University of Alaska Anchorage sent a letter earlier this year asking the center to leave its on-campus location.
"I'm excited to be somewhere that we're wanted," Christine Shulman, treasurer of Tanaina's board of directors, said at a potluck held for the Tanaina community at St. Mary's on Friday.
In January, Tanaina employees received an unexpected eviction letter from UAA that ended the agreement between the two entities. Tanaina had operated on UAA's campus since 1979. It had to move out permanently by May 1, the letter said. UAA later moved that date to May 8.
Tanaina employees said they had expected to briefly relocate from the Wells Fargo Sports Complex this summer while UAA completed a $9.2 million renovation project. UAA said, however, that given the fiscal climate it could no longer provide Tanaina with the rent-free space. The university also said it needed that space for student services.
The break sparked community pushback. Currently, about 60 children attend Tanaina. Roughly 90 percent of them have parents affiliated with the university.
UAA commissioned a task force to help with the transition and gave $10,000 to Tanaina to help cover summer rent expenses.
Scott Hamel, a faculty member in UAA's Department of Civil Engineering and president of Tanaina's board of directors, said Tanaina tried to find a new place it could afford. He said they looked at roughly six buildings. Each came with a list of 10 or 20 problems, he said. But St. Mary's had vacant classrooms and is less than a mile from UAA.
"We've been a neighbor of Tanaina for many years," said St. Mary's rector Michael Burke. "They're one of the finest programs in the state."
Burke said that the church wanted to help a neighbor in need. St. Mary's has offered a creative play school since 1967. The two programs will now exist side by side, but as independent programs.
Shulman said Tanaina did not expect to lose any staff as a result of the transition.
One dynamic stands to change: After Tanaina works through its current wait list, UAA staff, faculty and students will no longer be given preference, said Stefanie O'Brien, Tanaina's assistant executive director.
"As far as I understand, our relationship with the university is over by the end of business May 8," she said.
Though, Hamel said, if the two reach a new agreement the preference would resume.
O'Brien said Tanaina will move into St. Mary's while it continues to look for a new, permanent location. Burke said Tanaina can stay as long as needed.
"I love the space," O'Brien said. "Already, for me, it feels homey."