For Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, the Steinman Community Learning Center will be part of “a new era,” college President Pedro Rivera said.
The building will advance the college’s mission of expanding opportunity for underserved communities, he said. He added that it embodies a “two-gen” model — the practice within social services of integrating services holistically across generations, rather than addressing the needs of parents and children separately.
Rivera was speaking Tuesday morning at a groundbreaking for the center, which will sit at 420 S. Broad St. in Lancaster, just downhill from the college’s Greiner Advanced Manufacturing Center.
The two-story, 14,000 square foot learning center will replace a dilapidated unused utility building, a legacy from the area’s days as a National Guard armory. Construction is expected to take exactly a year and cost $6.8 million. Lobar In. is the general contractor.
The resulting building will provide space for three uses:
- A childcare center for Stevens College faculty, staff and students and the broader community;
- A “maker space” that will host K-12 students and introduce them to STEM concepts and possible careers;
- Community meeting spaces.
“This project demonstrates the deep connection Thaddeus Stevens College has with our community, and our dedication to creating pathways to education and careers with a focus on equity,” Rivera said.
Joining Rivera Tuesday morning were project partners, state Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, Terry Trego of state Sen. Scott Martin’s office and leaders of South Ann Concerned Neighbors, a local community group.
The Steinman Foundation provided a $600,000 donation for the project. Community and learning “are at the core of how the Steinman Foundation tries to use its resources,” foundation co-Chair Bob Krasne said.
He noted that the center melds two of the foundation’s top priorities: STEM education (the foundation is the fiscal sponsor of the Lancaster STEM Alliance) and early childhood development.
Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County is partnering with Stevens College to operate the daycare. Its offerings will include wraparound supports through CAP’s “Thrive to Five” program.
Vanessa Philbert, CAP’s CEO, extolled the potential of the two-gen approach.
Providing affordable childcare will free parents to pursue career education, positioning themselves to land family-sustaining jobs, she said. The children themselves will be laying the groundwork for their own educational success.
“This is the place where dreams will happen,” she said.
As a public trade school, Stevens College’s buildings are owned by the state. The college coordinates with the Department of General Services on construction projects.
