Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Author Archives: Leigh Shelton

Neighborhood Mom Finds Respite at U of O Children’s Library

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News
Great natural light, carpeted floors and toddler-sized furniture at the new U of O Children’s Library

The University of Oregon Family Study and Children’s Library (2800 NE Liberty St.) is open now, and notably; open to the public six days a week.

In my nearly five years as a stay-athome mom in Concordia, I’ve longed for more walkable places to take my young kids, especially during the rainy months. I’ve longed for a place where I can meet other parents and not have to spend money or shop. For me, this library is a dream come true.

Tucked away on the second floor of the Library and Learning building, the room isn’t huge but it’s well laid-out, has great natural light and is stocked with more than 4,000 children’s books; many of which were inherited from the former Concordia University.

(left to right) Salene and Willa McLeod read
board books at the newly-opened U of O
Children’s Library.

My two-year-old twins and I have made three trips to the library since it opened in late September. We look at books and roll around on the cozy floor. They love both the child-sized furniture and the oversized stuffed animals. On the first visit, they went especially bonkers for a never-touched copy of Richard Scarry’s Best Little Golden Books Ever!, a lovely book set of vintage stories complete with gilded edges.

We borrowed the set and it didn’t take long for my toddlers to destroy it. But it was out of deep love: one twin, Salene, napped daily with it under her chest and every adult caretaker in our family read the book The Gingerbread Man at least 7 times to her sister, Willa. Unfortunately by the time we returned it, the naptime snafu had led to some ripped out pages. But the kindest library assistant, Lauren Anderson, assured us that it was just fine.

“Books are made to be loved and used,” she said, when I explained what had happened. Although the library hasn’t been too busy on the days we’ve been there, Anderson says traffic’s been picking up. Two to three neighbors visit per day to sign up for their library cards.

Library cards are free and available to anyone in the state over 16 and they can be obtained on the second floor in the main library. Bring your driver’s license or ID.

Perhaps what I love most about the Children’s Library is that it’s not just for kids – it’s a place for grownups too. U of O’s informational materials say they want students who have children to use it as a place to study together. It’s a wonderful idea and one that’s smartly facilitated by the design of the space–there’s lots of soft carpeted open floors, big comfy chairs and wall-lined desks. A huge whiteboard fills one wall, begging for adult collaboration, and it’s also adorned with two dozen rubber magnets perfect for preschoolers and older kids.

The U of O Children’s Library is open Monday–Friday from 9 am – 6 pm, and Saturday from 1 pm – 6 pm. If you’re feeling as inspired as I am by this new public resource, meet my twins and me at the Children’s Library Monday mornings at 10:30 am. Let’s learn and grow together.

Leigh Shelton loves getting to know her Concordia neighbors and exploring ways we can better support each other. Reach out and say hi at leighshelton@gmail. com.

June fun – Free neighborhood fun this month

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Events

Summer is finally here and the time is right, neighbor, to come out of your shell. It’s the season of group bike rides and park dance parties, porch hangs with new neighbors and bounce house block parties. But in case you’re struggling to work up your social spirit, here are some free events happening in the neighborhood this June to get you moving.

Sunday Parkways Northeast
 The World Naked Bike Ride isn’t until Sunday, Aug. 13, but you can prepare for that exhilarating group ride by joining Sunday Parkways Northeast, rolling through Concordia on June 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sponsored by the City of Portland, this 6.2-mile route closes several major streets in our neighborhood to car traffic and circles four parks.

Last year, I attended and loved the live music and dancing at Fernhill and Khunamokwst parks. I also loved the parade atmosphere that emerged along the route. The 2022 route was hot but neighbors rose to the occasion; setting up sprinklers, water stations and lemonade stands for participants. And I saw a few neighbors take advantage of the closed streets to throw some casual front yard/ block parties.

The ride has no start or end and is free. Bring water and money for food trucks along the way. Visit Portland.gov/sunday-parkways/northeast-event-2023 to learn more.

Pedalpalooza bike rides
If something a bit more indie is your scene, try Pedalpalooza, Portland’s summer bike fest. Peruse the online calendar to find literally hundreds of themed rides planned throughout summer. I like the sound of the 80s New Wave Retro Ride that rolls through Concordia on June 10 at 7 p.m. Start at Woodlawn City Park, at Northeast Dekum and 13th streets, and ride a casual 11 miles while grooving to the best synthand new wave hits. Riders are strongly encouraged to come dressed for the 1980s. The ride will end at Tough Luck bar (21 and over) on 1771 N.E. Dekum St. The ride is free and for all ages.

Community Arts Center
Cully has a new Community Arts Center at 4524 N.E. Going St., which offers an open studio, after-school programs for kids, and classes in fiber arts, ceramic hand building, and art fundamentals. On Saturday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., it’s opening its doors for a free, family-friendly Craft Day and Open House.

Dance on Wheels Nights
Roll down to the playground at Vernon School, 2044 N.E. Killingsworth St., on Saturday nights this summer to Dance on Wheels, an all-ages gathering.

Organizer Janet Strong started roller skating during the pandemic, after a long hiatus.

“Everything was such a bummer,” she said. “I needed more joyful movement in my life.” The informal roller-skating nights were such a hit that they’re bringing them back for summer 2023. All wheels are welcome, including scooters, skateboards and bikes.

Strong brings the music; you can bring your own drinks and snacks. Strong says her favorite nights are when another roller skate group shows up, clad in helmets and elbow pads, to practice their tricks. Gatherings are held from 5:30-8 p.m. on weekends, and most are planned one week in advance.

To get in the know, find Strong on Facebook or go see her in the main office of Vernon School, 2044 N.E. Killingsworth St., where she works. Note: this is an informal gathering, not school-sponsored.

Owl Fest concert
On Saturday, June 3, a much bigger party will go down at Vernon School. Join neighbors for a community-wide celebration at Owl Fest from 3- 7 p.m., an event that hosts hope to hold annually.

Two special parent bands have assembled to provide entertainment. Strong, from the roller parties, plays keyboards and sings in one band. She is pretty tight-lipped about the set list, but promises danceable cover songs that represent diverse artists and span the decades.

Owl Fest also promises games for all ages, food trucks, silent bidding and “Take the Cake” musical chairs.

Vernon PTA President Maya Pueo von Geldern says her group hopes to hold Owl Fest outdoors. Free to attend, but a wristband for unlimited games is $5.

Belagarth Medieval Combat Society
Every Sunday at 2 p.m. in Alberta Park, 1905 N.E. Killingsworth St., a group of 15-20 folks battle it out at Belagarth, a medieval combat society. The “battle” takes place on the green field just south of the basketball court. I visited on a recent Sunday and observed a friendly, athletic and creative group of people gather to blow off some steam and have a lot of fun. Belagarth is more martial art than live action role play, although according to one organizer, Belagarth does include storylines, and players are welcome to make up their own fantasies. The pace of the battle varies from methodical to fast and hard, depending on who’s engaged. The group welcomes all skill levels, and organizers say the rules are easy to learn. Participating is free and foam shields and swords can be borrowed to get you started. Get out of your comfort zone and give Belagarth a try.

Science Fiction Book Club
More into sitting for your socializing? Concordia’s sci-fi book store Parallel Worlds Bookshop, 2639 N.E. Alberta St., hosts an ongoing, monthly in-person Book Club. Owner Sam Jones told his Instagram followers that starting in June, the group will meet at a larger space upstairs at Dream House PDX, 412 N.E. Beech St.

June’s book is Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic, “The Lathe of Heaven,” and a discussion will take place on June 1 from 6:15 – 8:15 pm.

Singing group
Portland’s long-running free singing group, the Sacred Harp singers, meet twice monthly at McMenamins Kennedy School community room, 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. Improve breathing and release tension by joining them on Sundays, June 11 or 25, at 4 p.m. Newcomers welcome.

Got a free activity planned for this summer? Tell us about it and we’ll feature your event in an upcoming issue. Email Dina Sage at CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org.

Leigh Shelton is the ad rep for Concordia News. She loves getting to know her Concordia neighbors and exploring ways we can better support each other. Reach out and say hi at CNewsBusiness@ ConcordiaPDX.org.

New Seasons – Grocery store workers join union

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Leigh Shelton | CNews Advertising Representative

From left: New Seasons Concordia workers Ollie, Ava and Joseph pose in front of a New Seasons Labor Union banner. Neighborhood store workers voted 94–16 in favor of joining the newly-formed union in December of last year.

Since he was a child, Joseph Mohrmann has survived off discarded food from New Seasons.

“It was essentially ‘Blue Slips,’” Mohrmann said, using the store term for edible-but-unsellable food up for grabs for employees. What employees don’t take is donated to community groups.

“We went to a church that got food donations from New Seasons,” Mohrmann said. “I remember packing paper bags for others in need, but it was for us, too. We needed them too.”

Now, at age 24, a five-year grocery clerk at New Seasons Concordia, 5320 NE 33rd Ave, Mohrmann still relies on the discarded food to get by. At $18.80 an hour, after rent and bills are paid, he said he has about $200 left to spend on food and anything else he may need or want in the two weeks before he gets paid again.

“I’m very frugal,” Mohrmann said, who shares an apartment in Cully with his sister. “We don’t heat the apartment much. I shop at thrift stores.”

For about a year, Mohrmann and his co-workers have been meeting after hours to figure out what they can do to improve conditions in their workplace. In December, they filed for a union election and voted 94–16 in favor of joining the New Seasons Labor Union, a new independent union the workers formed themselves in 2022. Seven other Portland-area New Seasons stores have voted to join them, totaling 800 newly unionized workers.

“It took a lot of energy and time to cultivate our working-class solidarity,” said Raël Adkerson, a seven-year New Seasons employee and Concordia resident. “In a time when people are very polarized, we have to get back to understanding that our labor is something that brings us all together.”

Adkerson said the progressive language the company touts no longer matches his day-to-day experience. “The things this company was built on, we want to see some of that back,” Adkerson said.

Negotiations are underway for the workers’ first contract.

Progressive label

New Seasons is a 19-store grocery chain founded here in Portland in 1999. In 2009, New Seasons’ founding members sold off a majority stake of the company to Endeavour Capital, a private equity firm. In 2019, Endeavour sold New Seasons, along with a suite of similar West Coast grocers, to E-mart Inc, South Korea’s largest retailer.

New Seasons markets heavily its Certified B Corporation label. Awarded by global nonprofit B-Lab to achieve the “B Corp” label, a for-profit business is supposed to meet certain criteria in areas of sustainability, worker standards, and accounting transparency. When New Seasons first won the award in 2013, it did so with a score of 120 points. In its most recent survey, its points slipped to 80, the minimum required to hold the label.

In an email, a New Seasons spokesperson said, “From the time our company was founded in 1999, we have been rooted in taking care of our staff first and foremost, and B Corp certification is a recognition of the great work we’ve done. We’re proud of our legacy as a progressive employer that offers industry-leading wages, a 30 percent discount, and generous benefits, including paid parental leave, paid time off, paid adoption benefits, 401K matching, twice-a-year automatic wage increases and so much more.”

Informing customers

On a rainy Saturday afternoon in early February, New Seasons employee Dan Morrissey gathered with co-workers at the edge of the parking lot and approached customers as they came and went from the store. It was the first time the workers brought their struggle to customers’ attention. “Once people understand that we work here, and just want to talk to them about what’s going on in the store, they’re incredibly supportive,” Morrissey said.

Morrissey said he joined the union hoping for better pay, but most importantly, he’s seeking respect from the management.

For Joe Meyers, a 15-year New Seasons employee, who currently works in produce, respect is top on his list as well. “‘Patronizing’ is a word I keep coming back to when I think of how the company treats its workers: like high school kids who need a parent figure instead of full adult humans, critical to their success and contributing members of society,” wrote Meyers in an email.

Meyers said as the company has grown, he’s seen an explosion of middle management positions, while his job gets narrower and more mindless.

“We used to problem solve,” he said. “It’s not just pay, but training, resources and respect are all in short supply. In my view, the company had maybe a very small opportunity in the beginning to ‘create good jobs in the community’ as all businesses like to promote, but they chose money instead and now seem hell-bent on not listening and creating a desperate transient workforce.”

Leigh Shelton is the ad rep for Concordia News. She loves getting to know her Concordia neighbors and exploring ways we can better support each other. Reach out and say hi at CNewsBusiness@ConcordiaPDX.org.

UO officials invite input from neighbors

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News
University of Oregon Interim President Patrick Phillips addresses Concordia neighbors Oct. 12. Photo by Brittany van der Salm

With fall sun streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, about 60 neighbors nibbled on duck-shaped sugar cookies, as they learned Oct. 12 about what’s next for the 19-acre campus at the north end of Concordia neighborhood.

In June, the University of Oregon acquired the former Concordia University campus, which had been shuttered since 2020. The recent public meeting took place in the library of the new UO campus. At the gathering, community members mingled with a dozen UO staff and listened to remarks from Interim President Patrick Phillips about the University’s intentions.

The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health is seeking to train more professionals in emotional wellness and will occupy the top floor of the library building, he said.

The institute will offer a new degree for undergraduates and aims to ready 200 graduates per year for jobs in schools and healthcare settings. Students participating in that program will occupy two of the campus’ residence halls starting in Fall 2023.

Some UO officials have already started moving into Concordia campus offices and Phillips said that they are keen to get the library building’s first-floor coffee shop up and running.

In order to create a “campus feel,” Phillips said UO has decided to move all of its Portland programs, currently housed in Old Town’s White Stag building, to the new campus. Those programs include graduate level offerings in business administration, architecture, historical preservation, journalism and law.

The “Innovation Space,” a research and maker lab used by several UO Portland graduate programs, is slated to take over what was Luther Hall, the large brick building and adjoining chapel on Holman Street and NE 28th Avenue.

UO Portland Provost Jane Gordon said the university wants to turn the former Concordia University chapel into a commons, an open space for exhibits and gatherings. The building will require significant renovations, and the university is in the process of selecting an architect to assist in the design phase, she said.

Gordon said she is most excited about the on-campus housing UO will now be able to offer UO Portland students, something it can’t in its Old Town site. She said UO intends to use 400 of the 500 current on-campus beds for students.

Gordon said neighbors will be welcome to use the campus in a variety of ways. “We want to be a community-centered campus,” Gordon said. “We will do events that people will be invited to, whether they’re a lecture, conference, music or things the community puts on. We’re open to various ideas.”

Ideas being considered include a weekly farmer’s market, concerts on the lawn and a food cart pod. Gordon says she wants to collaborate with Concordia residents on how to use the campus.

To share your ideas, contact UO by emailing pdxinfo@uoregon.edu.

For more information, visit pdx.uoregon.edu/northeast-pdx-campus

Readers Write! Tell us how you think the Concordia community should interact with, as well as utilize, the University of Oregon’s new campus. We’ll publish your thoughts in an upcoming issue. Email CNews Editor Rob Cullivan at CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org.

Concordia Conversations – Area gardener ‘paints with plants’

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Gardening
Garden designer Wesley Younie notes many clients are looking to replace their lawns with more interesting landscapes. Photo by Michael French

Wesley Younie is a painter and trendsetting garden designer leaving his mark all over Portland. Through his business, Wesley Younie Creative, his calendar is packed with eager clients seeking drought-tolerant and aesthetically pleasing flower-filled landscapes.

Past clients include Sequitur Wine in Newburg, Union Wine in Tualatin and dozens of private residences, including many here in Concordia.

Ready to take the plunge and pull out your lawn? Younie recommends starting with the parking strip. “You want it to be low maintenance,” he said. “Why not fill it with plants and shrubs that thrive in the Pacific Northwest?”

Visit WesleyYounie.com to see more of his work or get in touch.

The following interview took place in late summer, in Younie’s stunning home garden in Concordia.

Shelton: Looking at your paintings, I’m noticing an interest in nature. Also, a lot of small details. How does your painting interact with your garden design?

Wesley Younie is an accomplished painter,
whose art is inspired by his gardening. This
work is titled “Dark Garden.” Contributed
photo

Younie: “Well, it’s all the same elements. I say, ‘I’m painting with plants.’ Kind of cheesy to say, but true. It’s the same formula if you’re painting a landscape, except you’re doing it in 3D. And color is huge in my gardens. There are colors I don’t like using. There are colors that are favorites, and those that are really easy to blend together—purple, blue, pink, white, dark red. If I like a bright color, it’s usually orange.”

Your personal garden is packed full of plants. And when I walk down the long sidewalk in front of your house, nestled between the parking strip and the rock retaining wall that lines your lot, I instantly feel transported. Not sure I can pinpoint what that feeling is though. What is it about for you?

“To me, it’s the same thing as art. It’s all about creating a feeling. I once wrote in an artist statement, ‘I want my work to transport you to another world.’ It’s the same in gardens. I like different themes and playing with mixing themes. Parts of my garden are Japanese, parts are tropical and other parts are really arid, natural California desert–looking. It’s so important to have the big picture, then the details. I think that’s what a lot of homeowners can’t figure out. What’s the big picture of my garden or landscape?”

When you set out to design a garden for a client, what are your priorities?

“I really want the client to love the garden. And making sure they are set up for success. Like, don’t let them put a vegetable garden in the shade.”

What’s going on in our gardens in October? What should we be doing?

“Fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs because it’s starting to rain and you can have them watered for free. You can start planting fall edible plants too, as well as bulbs.”

Can we plant flowers for spring?

“Perennials, yes, because then they go dormant, then they come back and they look great. It’s a great time to add color to your garden.”

Where do you buy plants?

“My favorite nursery in town, Xera Plants at 1114 SE Clay St. I like to promote them because they’re local, they have good prices and all their plants do great in our climate.”

Wesley Younie works in his home garden. Photo by Michael French

Speaking of climate, how do we plant for a warming one?

“What I’ve been into, and I’m seeing with clients, is a huge push for pollinating flowers that help the ecosystem by attracting bees and other insects. I went to a big nursery conference, and they said pollinators are the number one thing people are asking for. That makes me happy that people are thinking about this.

“And with the fires and climate change— Oregon is getting hotter—there are so many plants that are going to look green, are drought tolerant and are going to look way better than a dead lawn. I love taking out a lawn. And a lot of the gardens in the neighborhood that I’ve done are that. How much better for the ecosystem is a pollinator garden that’s creating habitat than a dead lawn?”

Leigh Shelton is the new lead ad representative for CNews. She loves raising her three children in Concordia and doing yoga nidra. For advertisement inquiries, contact Leigh at CNewsBusiness@ ConcordiaPDX.org.

Back to School – Preschool, afterschool to open in Concordia

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Schools, Uncategorized
Delorie Finch, left, greets her preschool students each morning. Here she greets Londyn Brown, who high fives her father, Neal Brown. Photo by Leigh Shelton

For Delorie Finch, the dream of opening her own preschool began in 1998, while sitting in the balcony of the Maranatha Church in Northeast Portland.

“The pastor said, ‘God has blessed many of you with talents, and many of you are sitting on those talents,’” Finch said. “And I heard God say to me, ‘Delorie, you need to start the school. Start the school and the people will come.’”

Twenty-four years later, she started the school, and thanks to funding from Preschool for All, a 2020 Multnomah County voter-supported ballot initiative, the students have come.

In its first year of implementation, Preschool for All has enrolled 677 students across the county, 10 of whom will attend Finch Academy, located in Maranatha Church, 4222 NE 12th Ave.

“They’ve been wonderful,” Finch said, referring to the Preschool for All counselors who’ve helped her. “They’re doing everything they possibly can to make sure we’re successful.”

Preschool for All has provided Finch Academy grant money to help cover infrastructure expenses, training and mentorship. The academy has also received tuition aid to cover 10 threeand four-year-olds.

Funded by a tax on high-income earners that Multnomah County started collecting in January 2021, Preschool for All makes full-time preschool free for families in the county.

Finch long dreamt of opening her own school and spent 27 years running the preschool program at Matt Dishman Community Center in Northeast Portland’s Eliot neighborhood. She retired in September of 2021. “When I started [at Dishman], it was all Black children,” she said. “By the time I retired it was all white except for one. This is a result of gentrification.”

Finch said she loved her experience at Dishman. But she still felt a yearning to lead something of her own making and fulfill a deep need she saw for children to attend preschool.

“It’s not fair for children to be left out just because their parents can’t pay,” Finch said. “Parents shouldn’t choose between paying the bills and rent and preschool, yet they do. These kids are so smart. They are like a sponge. We need to fill their little minds with as many good things as we can.”

For Preschool for All, Finch Academy is considered a “Pilot Site.” That means it’s one of the first contracted preschools in the program and, akin to user testing, will influence the overall shape of the county’s preschool program as its details are worked out.

Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson was a key leader of the 2020 Preschool for All campaign conducted by a coalition of parents, teachers, unions, preschool providers and community groups. Pederson said she feels proud of reaching this milestone in the Preschool for All journey, and is still active on the team.

“Families are dropping off their little ones at preschool and are free from the significant financial burden of childcare,” Vega Pederson said, adding: “This program was recognized as a potential national model, and we’re going to make sure it’s a success.”

Applications are currently open for existing or would-be preschool providers interested in joining for the 2023–24 school year. Cash assistance and free training are available. For more information, visit Multco.us/preschool/ providers.

And although Finch Academy’s Preschool for All funded slots are filled for this school year, she still has room for more students, and Finch said she will not turn away families. For more information, call Finch at 971.544.7291.

“We Play” After School

Concordia neighborhood leader and former CNews Advertising Representative Gina Levine’s We Play Portland, an after school childcare program for Faubion School students ages five through 10, has found a new home in St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, 6700 NE 29th Ave., starting this month.

Levine has long provided before- and after-school care for friends and neighbors out of her house. But this year she has taken her business to the next level, finding a convenient location in the church’s Fellowship Hall next door to Faubion.

“I’ve been somewhat unofficially watching other people’s kids since my nine-year-old was a newborn,” Levine said. “But it was never a business. It’s really exciting to be taking the next step. I can help more families, and I see it as a longer-term career.”

Levine said she named her care program “We Play” because that’s what she wants to give the kids, a chance for unstructured time to just play and be themselves. “I don’t think kids get to play enough during the school year,” she said. “To me, play is building relationships, building community and figuring out who you are when you’re a kid.”

And for Faubion families, it’s a vital service for those parents who are working and can’t pick up their kids at 3:15 p.m. when school dismisses students, she said. We Play Portland is offering care Monday to Thursday for two hours after school.

One such parent is Christine Sullivan, a single mom and full-time teacher in Portland Public Schools. When her daughter started in-person classes at Faubion last school year, she was stressed and scrambled to find before- and afterschool care.

“I think the [school] district needs to do a better job of offering more options,” Sullivan said. “I’m so thankful for Gina. She provides such an amazing service for the community by watching all these kiddos.”

Levine said a few spots remain open in this year’s program, so contact her at WePlayPortland@gmail.com to enroll. If all goes well at Faubion, she hopes to open a Vernon School location for the 2023–24 school year.

Faubion Welcomes Staff

Faubion School welcomes two new assistant principals this fall: Cynthia Kieffer and Celina Garrido.

Kieffer was a middle school teacher in Beaverton before entering administration in Portland Public Schools. She lives in the Sabin neighborhood and said she already feels connected to the community.

Kieffer, who is Latina and speaks fluent Spanish, comes to Faubion from James John Elementary, a K–5 school. She requested to be moved to a school that served older children.

“I found I was missing that middle school component,” Kieffer said. “Grades six through eight are a discovery period. Kids are forming their hopes and dreams. To watch that identity grow and blossom is just so invigorating.

Leigh Shelton is the new lead ad representative for CNews. She loves raising her three children in Concordia and doing yoga nidra. For advertisement inquiries, contact Leigh at CNewsBusiness@ConcordiaPDX.org.

Pipster Prep – Preschool to open in CU building

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family
This former Concordia University administration building will house Pipster Prep’s newest location. Photo by Leigh Shelton.

A Portland preschool and childcare chain plans to open a location in a former administration building of Concordia University, on the corner of NE 30th Avenue and Ainsworth.

Pipster Prep owner Tessa Steinberg said the new school, at 5949 NE 30th Ave., is tentatively set to open in February.

Steinberg and her husband David Steinberg recently bought the singlestory 8,000-square-foot building and are planning a full renovation.

Steinberg said she’s most excited about bringing the outside in with skylights in the common areas and a roll-up door to connect indoor play with a new, large outdoor play space where a parking lot currently exists. “And a large bathroom with eight stalls will be SOOO nice,” she said

Steinberg said she is excited to see the architectural plans come to life. Most refurbished buildings limit design possibilities because of existing conditions that are hard to change. But the 1959 property is a “cement square” upon which she can make her design dreams come true. “This will definitely be our nicest location,” Steinberg said. “And the street is perfect. I love Ainsworth.”

Concordia will be Steinberg’s first location to provide care to children ages 1 and older. Her other four locations enroll children ranging in age from 2 or 3 to 5.

Tessa Steinberg

Steinberg, who until recently lived in Concordia, said she was inspired to expand her business into infant care after the birth of her son, as she struggled mightily to find care for him. “We are in dire need for more care in this area,” Steinberg said.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic led to the shutdown of centers and dispersal of the workforce, a 2020 Oregon State University report prepared for Oregon’s Department of Education Early Learning Division labeled all 36 Oregon counties to be “childcare deserts” for children ages 0 to 2. A desert is defined as an area with more than three children for every one licensed child care slot. For parents, the lack of supply translates to high prices, wait lists and lots of frustration.

Concordia resident Adrienne Newton’s son Mason attends Pipster Prep’s Northeast preschool on Killingsworth Street. It has a long wait list, and it was Newton’s third try at finding the right place for her oldest son.

“When Mason walked into the classroom, he fell in love,” she said. “He got his ‘joie de vivre’ back. They think they’re having all this fun, but really, they’re learning. He’s so happy.”

Newton said she’s thrilled about the new location that will be just a few blocks from her house and is planning to send her youngest son when it opens. “I can walk Lucas to Pipster and Mason to Faubion [School],” Newton said. “It just fulfills my dream of having this little community so close.”

To learn more about Pipster Prep, visit PipsterPrep.com.

Leigh Shelton is the new lead ad representative for CNews. She loves raising her three children in Concordia and doing yoga nidra. For advertisement inquiries, contact Leigh at CNewsBusiness@ConcordiaPDX.org.