Midway Y daycare center grows

The Midway YMCA will double its child care capacity to about 280 children per day, with a new facility planned northeast of the main building. The St. Paul Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved needed variances Oct. 28, 2024. Approval allows for demolition of a building converted for child care, and construction at 530 Wheeler St. N.
The YMCA is at 1761 University Ave.
The child care project is complicated by its location, which is largely within the Green Line light rail’s Fairview Avenue station area. Being in a designated station area brings additional regulations for redevelopment.
The Y’s Child and Family Wellbeing Center of Excellence project needs two variances. One is for the size of parking and entrance drives. Surface parking areas and entrance drive that are accessory to a principal building or use may occupy no more than 60 feet of the total lot frontage; 110 feet are proposed for a 50-foot variance.
The second variance is for floor area ratio (FAR), which is the measurement of a building’s floor area in relation to the size of the lot/parcel that the building is located on. It is calculated by dividing the total area of the building by the total area of the parcel In St. Paul, it is typically used to encourage more dense development. A minimum FAR of .855 is required and .36 is proposed for a variance of .495.
During land use planning for the Green Line more than a decade ago, station areas were established to promote density in new developments. BZA members agreed that the project is appropriate for the area and is the type of high-intensity use that was envisioned during station area planning. That justifies granting the variances.
BZA staff recommended approval of the variances, noting the constraints of the site, state requirements for day care facilities, and the added regulations that come with being in a light rail station area. Hamline Midway Coalition made no recommendation and no one from the public spoke in support or opposition.
Midway Y Executive Director David Dominick, and Brian Kirk, director of design and construction for the umbrella organization YMCA of the North, described the project. Y officials have used part of the Wheeler Street building for several years for school-age child care. But the building is dated and isn’t compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Past printing uses left chemical contamination in soil around and beneath the building. The Midway Y installed a vapor mitigation and monitoring system to ensure safe conditions. Tearing down the structure will allow for contamination cleanup.
“We want to provide a quality experience for child care,” Dominick said. It would expand on current services, which are for infants through school-age children.
The child care center would have about 60 staff members, doubling the current staff.
Dominick also pointed out that the YMCA as an organization is one of the largest day care providers in Minnesota.
Easements on the north and south sides of the property, and design requirements for child care facilities also drive the need for variances, including the need for a one-story building, a state requirement that an outdoor play area be provided and a need for a safe drop-off and pickup area for children.
The new building will have 25,600 square feet of space, with a fenced playground of 5,500 square feet. It will have a total of 67 parking spaces, with 42 spaces on its south side and 25 on the north side.
Costs and a timeline for the new facility haven’t been announced.
The structure at 570 N. Wheeler was built in 1949, with an addition in 1965. It housed Deluxe Check operations for many years, and later was home to Western Graphics.
The Y bought the Wheeler Street property in 2014 as part of the redevelopment of the old Midway Y. In that project, a 1915 building was replaced in 2016 with a new structure.