United Learning Center Construction in Centralia Postponed After Federal Funding Falls Through

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In a Tuesday night meeting, United Learning Center Project Manager Todd Chaput told the Centralia City Council a proposed United Learning Center ran into funding issues over the last year, which have resulted in its construction being postponed. 

The project is a 12,800-square-foot educational facility set to be built on the corner of Maple and North Pearl streets that was originally scheduled to open last fall. Project partners including Discover! Children’s Museum, Bezos Academy and the Boys & Girls Club of Lewis County are still planning to use the center, Chaput said.

Last March, the City of Centralia pledged $2.1 million as a stop-gap measure while Chaput and his team tried but failed to secure federal funding with U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Bothell. 

“Well that didn’t work out and unfortunately Senator Murray’s office was unable to secure the funds,” Chaput said.

He added since construction had been postponed, the city was free to use those pledged funds for other projects. 

“In no means are we not moving forward with the United Learning Center,” said Chaput. “We’ve come across some opportunities that have presented themselves through the new market tax credit organizations that we’ve been working with to secure some tax credit funds. Numerous organizations are very interested in these tax credits.”

The tax credits cover a variety of issues organizations may seek to support, including marginalized communities, children of all ages, mental health and providing a community needed learning center. 

According to Chaput, he is in communications with both organizations interested in tax credits and Murray’s office to balance out funds and get construction going again. Ground was ceremonially broken on the project on June 8, 2021. 



“If everything winds up as we’re hoping, we can begin construction later this year and resume where we left off,” Chaput said. 

He also stated that according to Murray’s office, each year of delays could add between $500,000 and $1 million in construction costs due to inflation. Chaput added the senator’s office has prioritized securing funding for this project. 

“It’s imperative we move quickly but we need to make sure we have the funds secured before we actually go into construction,” said Chaput. 

Currently, Chaput and his team still have over $5 million in funding secured, with additional funding secured from tax rebates and early learning facilities grants from Washington state. 

Centralia Councilor Mark Westley asked if there was anything the council could still do to expedite the process. Chaput responded the project simply needed continued coordinated support from the city and 20th district Republican lawmakers state Rep. Peter Abbarno and Sen. John Braun. 

Once full funding has been secured, the construction contractor will be able to begin construction after three months. As far as the actual opening date, Chaput said nothing was set in stone. 

“I really hate to put too hard of a timeline, but our goal is fall of 2024, and that’s gonna be really tight even if everything aligns perfectly. If everything doesn’t align perfectly we could still open the museum, but Bezos Academy is pretty adamant they want to open up at the beginning of the school year,” Chaput said.