The Woodbury Planning Commission has approved a permit and site plan for Alma Flor Ada. The Spanish immersion center, which has a waiting list, plans to expand its capacity from 105 children to 220 in its new 14,470-square foot building at the intersection of Bielenberg Drive and Tamarack Road.

Lucila Davila opened the school during the pandemic in a 7,500-square-foot location at 8420 City Centre Drive. That location will close when the new center opens.

At the planning commission meeting Monday night, Brad Coats, the developer with Goldridge Companies, said the school honors Alma Flor Ada, a professor emerita at the University of San Francisco. She has written more than 200 books on Spanish immersion curriculum. Davila obtained permission from Ada to use her name and curriculum.

Coats said he’s developed many child care centers and he was impressed when he stopped at Alma Flor Ada. “I just usually have three-year-olds moving blocks around and putting round pegs in round holes. And these kids were actually reading and studying curriculum,” Coats said. “We believe in her school, and that’s why we would like to propose doing this project with Woodbury.”

Traffic flow: Coats said the school will have a controlled drop-off and pick-up area for parents and children to safely arrive and depart. He assured commissioners the area will be large enough to avoid traffic backing up onto Stephens Way. He also said he’s confident the site plan provides enough parking for the school. The commission did add a requirement that safety bollards be added to protect the playground from vehicles.

Exterior: The building’s design incorporates complementary materials to match other structures in the area, including brick, glass, and stone. The use of colorful fiber cement panels on the exterior, which serve as a visual guide for children to identify their classrooms, was a detail praised by Commissioner Stephanie Swanson. “I have been talking about color at these meetings for months, and I was so happy to see color in this building,” she said.

Landscaping and Recreation: The project includes a 7,155-square-foot outdoor play area located on the west side of the building. The landscaping plan specifies the addition of 32 trees, 60 shrubs, and numerous perennials to the site.

The Woodbury City Council is expected to consider the permit and site plan at its Aug. 27 meeting,

Neighboring Facility

Another child care center, Kiddie Academy, is building a facility next to the site proposed for Alma Flor Ada. That 11,000-square-foot academy is located at 805 Stephens Way.

The facility will be owned and operated by lifelong Woodbury residents Andrew and Amye Lemon and Josh and Caitlin Orloff. It will include 12 classrooms, a state-of-the-art playground, and an outdoor track. 

Another Spanish Immersion Center

This summer, a Spanish immersion child care opened in Woodbury with room for 140 children. Casa de Corazon opened its first location in the east metro at 7805 Hudson Rd. Casa de Corazon, founded by Natalie Standridge in 2002, has six other locations in the Twin Cities metro and three in Wisconsin.

Goddard School

A fourth child care center is under construction at 645 Settlers Ridge Parkway in Woodbury. The Goddard School, with a capacity of 200 children, will include 13, 780 square feet. Goldridge Companies is also building this center. It will be operated by Rick and Shannon Gehrmann, who also are the franchise owners of the current school. The first location has operated for five years at 4136 Radio Dr. It serves 180 children and is at a capacity. The school has a waiting list of 170 kids.