Pendleton Children’s Center expands with building next door

Published 6:00 am Sunday, July 27, 2025

PENDLETON — Children at the Pendleton Children’s Center soon will have more room to learn, play and grow.

The center at 920 SW Frazer Ave. recently purchased the structure next door and has begun transforming the interior into a modern, efficient facility for children — while continuing to provide affordable and reliable child care to the community.

Crews are replacing the stairs and adding a ramp on the south side of the building to ensure full accessibility to the child care area and the upstairs offices. They’re also building a canopy to create shade for outdoor play.

Kathryn Brown, founder and board secretary-treasurer of the Pendleton Children’s Center, said the center has grown significantly since it opened.

“When we started, we were only caring for preschool-aged children, 3- and-4-year-olds,” she said. “But with our initial expansion and the addition of new classrooms in our first building, we’re now able to take infants and toddlers as well.”

Brown said a second building, under development, will allow the center to expand its programs across all age groups and also offer an after-school program specifically for kindergartners from the Pendleton Early Learning Center.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a $1.5 million Community Project Funding grant to support the purchase and renovation of additional child care space.

The center plans to increase its capacity from 36 to more than a 100 children, helping meet growing demand in Pendleton and allowing more parents to enter the workforce or continue their education.

McCormack Construction is renovating the former 3Rs space on the upper west end of the new building, starting with demolition before building two new preschool rooms in the months ahead. The two buildings date back to the 1940s and require significant updates to meet modern child care and early education standards.

Although the center is not operating at full capacity due to ongoing construction and limited resources, it serves about 70 children. Since opening in the fall of 2022 with 36 preschoolers, the Pendleton Children’s Center has expanded its child care space and is licensed for up to 76 children.

Brown said the expansion will significantly ease the local child care shortage. She added that from an employer’s perspective, having more child care options allows more parents to enter the workforce or pursue education.

She also noted rental income from tenants in the new building helps cover maintenance costs and ultimately will help keep child care tuition as affordable as possible for families.

Brown said the center  eventually will need to furnish the new classrooms and plans to share a wishlist of specific donation needs when the time comes.

“We’re not really in need of books or toys — we have plenty of those,” she said. “But as we finish the new spaces, we’ll need help furnishing them and will let the community know what we’re looking for.”

She added that cash donations are welcome, particularly for the center’s scholarship fund.

“It’s not an ongoing scholarship for full tuition or anything like that,” Brown said. “It’s used on a case-by-case basis to help families facing temporary emergencies — things like sudden job loss, illness or loss of housing — when they still need child care but can’t cover tuition. It’s meant to bridge those short-term gaps.”

The Pendleton Children’s Center is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Extended hours, from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., are available with advance notice.

Parents may contact Child Care Director Brittney Jackson through email with questions about registration, the waitlist, scheduling and other services.

Community members can stay up to date on events on the latest hours and classes through the center’s website and Facebook page.