A new Head Start early education facility will open soon near the Logan neighborhood in northeast Spokane. 

Patty Allen, director of Head Start for Community Colleges of Spokane, says Logan-Lidgerwood Head Start will open Sept. 3 at 3704 N. Nevada, in the building that formerly was occupied by Bates Pharmacy & Medical Supply.

Hutton Settlement bought the 12,000-square-foot building and less than one acre of land under it last year, says Chud Wendle, the nonprofit’s executive director. Hutton Settlement sustains its operational budget by buying and renting out commercial properties, Wendle says; the former Bates Pharmacy is one of those properties. 

Hutton Settlement had been working with Community Colleges of Spokane to find a suitable location for the Head Start facility, Wendle says. The nonprofit purchased the building specifically for that purpose. 

With Longfellow Elementary School across Nevada and a lack of Head Start options in the neighborhood, Wendle says the location was ideal.

A $2 million renovation project was started in fall 2018 and completed in June.

Demolition and renovation services were provided by Yost Gallagher Construction LLC, of Spokane. NAC Architecture, of Spokane, designed the project, and engineering services were provided by Storhaug Engineering Inc., also of Spokane.

Work included transforming 9,000-square-feet of the former pharmacy into eight classrooms, a commercial kitchen, and other updates and improvements, Wendle says. A parking lot was converted into a split playground, half of which will be used by toddlers, the other half by preschoolers.

As part of Hutton Settlement’s acquisition of the property, the nonprofit bought a parking lot south of the building, across Kiernan Avenue. Staff and parents will be able to park in that lot, Wendle says.

Logan-Lidgerwood Head Start will serve 112 children, from infants to preschoolers.

The project aligns with Hutton Settlement’s mission to nurture and educate children in need, Wendle says.

“Head Start is providing hope and opportunities for these children to catch up so when they hit elementary school, they’re at the same point as children that had the privileges of a family or opportunities with preschool daycare,” Wendle says. “It’s going to serve a key purpose to several families that don’t have the opportunities for daycare and preschool.”

Logan-Lidgerwood Head Start will hold an open house 2-4 p.m. Sept. 13.