Lake Ann resident Kendall Rose came up with the idea. She’s a parent who also runs her own event-planning business.
Rose said for people like her with unusual schedules, finding childcare can be hard.
"If you didn't have family living up here in the area, there was not only a complete shortage of part time flexible child care," she said. But also just not that many available nannies and babysitters.”
The Aspen House will have flexible hours.
Members will be able block off two to six hours of time to work while their children are cared for.
On site will be private and communal co-working spaces, a lactation room, kitchenette and other amenities.
The Aspen House is part of the “microcenter” model of childcare that launched in Leelanau County last year.
Microcenters aim to provide affordable childcare while offering higher wages to providers.
Rose said she intends to pay childcare employees $25 to $30 an hour, more than the state and national averages with flexible schedules.
“These are wages that you see in other shift work," she said. like I look at cleaning companies up here, where the typical hourly wage is between $40 and $50 an hour. So if someone has the choice between doing that, versus working in a childcare facility, you have to be competitive with those hourly rates."
She’s applying for more grants to fund the project and aims to open the facility in Suttons Bay sometime in 2025.
Learn more about The Aspen House here.
