Construction students from Southeast Community College have contributed to another childcare option in Milford with the completion of their latest school project – a three-bedroom ranch-style home.
The Milford Childhood Learning Center purchased the home and will renovate it into its nonprofit childcare center.
Tieken House Moving of Cordova transported the house from SCC’s campus Dec. 14 to the site of the childcare center at 520 South A Street next to Bellwood Mennonite Church.
MCLC will begin renovating the home into classroom spaces.
Cole Hottovy, a senior Building Construction major at SCC, watched the house move from the site of the build to its new location.
In the process of building the nearly 2,000-square-foot home and working to meet some of MCLC’s requests, such as installing extra washer and dryer hookups, students in the Building Construction program were able to learn real-world skills and create something they hope to see benefit those around them.
“It’s nice that it is staying in the community,” Hottovy said. “It’s for the kids, and so they can keep growing the town. Families will have a nice house now where they can send their kids.”
Hottovy and other students were able to complete the build in under four months from August to December, a time frame that coincided almost exactly with the construction timeline MCLC was looking to follow.
“It just worked out perfectly,” Kylie Schildt, MCLC program coordinator, said. “They built it as a residential home and allowed us to purchase it with a few modifications.”
Homes nearly identical to this one are built by students in Milford annually and have been auctioned off at the end of each semester in years past.
Schildt said by working with the college to buy this year’s structure, MCLC was able to save $300,000 in labor and planning costs.
The idea for the collaboration came from Schildt’s parents, Rod and Kathi Schildt, who purchased the 2006 SCC home and moved it to their acreage.
Rod is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Milford and was able to provide insight on purchasing and moving the structure as he’d been through the process already.
The affordability played a large part in the selection of the home, as the center hopes to open in the spring as a debt-free building.
Of the $1.6 million needed for the center to become fully operational, $145,000 more will finish off construction costs for a debt-free building, helping with foundation and utility expenses.
Schildt said about 75% of the total operational cost has been funded by grants, leaving 25% up to the community.
So far, about $230,000 has come from local donations or countywide grants, and MCLC was approved for a Business Partnership Grant that will cover staffing costs through September 2024.
The construction costs were not eligible for government grant funding, but MCLC has obtained a total of $740,000 in grants to cover furnishings, supplies and staffing.
Aside from grants, Schildt said $141,265 has been raised through private donations.
“The majority of that has been from nine families,” Schildt said, with 22 families contributing to the overall fundraising effort.
The goal is to open with a $500,000 operational endowment.
“There is a ton of potential in our community,” Schildt said, “and we definitely hope they donate.”
MCLC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and donations are tax-deductible.
Online donations may be made at milfordchildhood.com, while donations by check may be made payable to Milford Childhood Learning Center and sent to 521 First Street, P.O. Box 10, Milford, NE 68405.
