Garden of Dreams grows, thanks to Battle Creek coalition and legacy of beloved childcare pioneer

Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s On the Ground Battle Creek series. All photos were taken by On the Ground Battle Creek Photographer John Grap.

BATTLE CREEK, MI — Roberta Zull’s passing in 2023 left a void for her family and friends, and for the children and their parents in Battle Creek who relied on the childcare center she operated in a city-owned building on Irving Park Drive.

“Bobby’s death and lack of a succession plan were jarring to the community, parents, and students,” says Kathy Szenda Wilson, Co-Executive Director of Pulse. “Parents found new places to go for childcare, which showed the strength of a network built locally. The city had to assess what they were going to do with that building and acknowledged that they weren’t great landlords and knew they weren’t childcare experts.”

A public-private coalition spearheaded by Bronson Healthcare announced in early October that the former site of Zull’s Kids Campus will become the Garden of Dreams Community Preschool and Child Care, scheduled to open in summer 2026.

The original Garden of Dreams has been operating out of First Congregational Church since 2005 and has always had a waiting list. Robin Beasley took over as its Director in 2020 and will also serve in that role at the new facility. She says she’s hoping that the FCC location will remain open, but the building that houses FCC is up for sale, which creates some unknowns about the future of that Garden of Dreams location.

“It’s bittersweet for us,” Beasley says of herself and her employees. “I’m excited to be partnering with Bronson and having a beautiful new center, and it’s bittersweet because it may be the end of the relationship with Garden of Dreams and FCC. The mission and goals of Garden of Dreams will continue in the new building and maybe in FCC. It would be nice to have two.”

“The hope is that Garden of Dreams will be able to maintain both locations to increase the number of opportunities available for families in the community,” says Megan Russell Johnson, Program Officer with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF).

The estimated $1 million cost to rehab the 7,200-square-foot Irving Park building is being covered through a $500,000 grant from WKKF and a $300,000 investment from Bronson Healthcare and an additional $300,000 from Bronson Battle Creek Hospital Community Partners, says Joe du Lac, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Bronson Battle Creek Hospital.

“The entire building has got to be renovated. That center is a total gut job,” Beasley says. “It’s a big task and we’re not going over budget.”

Some of this work includes upgrades to bathrooms and kitchen areas. The city will retain ownership of the building, and Garden of Dreams will pay a nominal rent, which the city will reinvest into ongoing capital maintenance for the facility, says Katie Norton, Chief Facilities Officer with the City of Battle Creek.

“WKKF made this investment because Innovative partnerships are essential to addressing the need for access to high-quality childcare,” says Russell Johnson. “We continue to support an early learning and care system providing families access to quality early learning and care opportunities, strengthening the local workforce and creating a thriving local economy.”   

Now in his third year with Bronson Battle Creek Hospital, du Lac began having conversations with former Battle Creek City Manager Rebecca Fleury in 2023 about the possibility of reopening the former Kids Campus as a childcare center. Before this, he had learned that Bronson was looking at opportunities to offer safe, affordable, quality childcare as part of its recruitment and retention efforts through discussions with Cheryl Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer with Bronson Healthcare.

After Fleury alerted him to Zull’s passing and the subsequent closure of Kids Campus, du Lac says, “I jumped on the phone with Cheryl and we started looking into it.”

Internal assessments at Bronson Battle Creek Hospital show that many staff and providers are either in the family planning stage or are parenting young children. Reliable, affordable childcare will be essential to attracting, retaining, and supporting these vital team members, says the Bronson Healthcare press release.

“Childcare is always a topic of discussion,” du Lac says.

Although Bronson Healthcare’s Kalamazoo campus lacks the space and room for a childcare center, he says, “This opportunity came up in Battle Creek and we thought, ‘Oh, this is perfect.’ I feel in order for this hospital to grow into something great, the community’s got to grow along with us.”

Originally built in 1974 as a recreational facility serving Irving Park, the building, known as the Valentine Center, has been used for many different purposes in its 50-year history, Norton says.

Maintaining it as a childcare facility makes sense, she says, because it’s already configured and licensed for childcare, which significantly reduces the time and cost required to reopen or repurpose it, making the transition efficient and practical.

“It addresses a critical community need. Battle Creek is experiencing a well-documented shortage of affordable, high-quality childcare. According to the 2025 National Community Survey, residents identified the availability of affordable, quality childcare and preschool as a top concern. Maintaining and improving this facility directly responds to that feedback.”

The need is clear and urgent, according to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which says Michigan loses an estimated $2.88 billion annually in economic activity due to inadequate childcare. In addition, the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions states that there are about four children for every one available childcare spot.

“With even greater childcare shortages in Calhoun County, this collaborative effort marks an essential step forward,” according to the Bronson Healthcare press release.

Szenda Wilson says newborn and infant care represent the largest childcare gaps in Calhoun County. Among other concerns is parents not having greater choice in selecting childcare facilities that align with their values and beliefs. This is when it becomes an “only option” situation.

Reliable childcare is essential for working parents and guardians, Norton says.

“Keeping this center operational helps families stay in the workforce and contributes to the local economy.”

Locally-owned, locally-operated

Szenda Wilson says the new Garden of Dreams is not a moneymaking venture. She shared with the coalition partners that they would likely be approached by national childcare center chains and stressed the importance of keeping the new venture local.

“We want to keep the money here. We want to strengthen our own workforce and businesses, which is why Garden of Dreams was chosen,” she says.

“When we got into this, I said we’re not going to get into this unless we can do it right and offer world-class childcare, and Robin is all about having that same vision,” du Lac says.

Garden of Dreams FCC location is licensed for a maximum of 120 children and currently has 102 children who are cared for by a full-time and part-time staff of 25. About 85 percent of the children’s families and caregivers receive some type of childcare subsidy or scholarship to help cover the cost, with the remainder participating in the MI Tri-Share program or a program offered through the Battle Creek Public Schools, Beasley says.

“Depending on parent preferences, the expectation would be that all of these children would come with me to the new location. The plan is to stay in our current building until we’re fully licensed at the new building, cut the ribbon, and open the door.”

About 19 of her children in the Great Start Readiness program will be leaving in 2026 to attend Kindergarten.

“I’m working on allocated slots for Bronson employees,” Beasley says.

Working out of the Irving Park building will be a coming home of sorts for her.

“That building is where I got my start in childcare. I worked with Bobby for 18 months,” she says.

From there, Beasley would go on to work at various childcare centers in the Battle Creek area before landing at Garden of Dreams. FCC, she says, has been “good to us. We’ve been blessed to have additional spaces and the use of the courtyard there.”

As the future of the FCC remains an “unknown”, Szenda Wilson says the decision to move forward with a new location was really about making the best decision for the community and Garden of Dreams as a business.

“We are all about employers getting involved in and addressing childcare for the community and its employees,” she says.

The hope is that this public-private partnership will serve as an example and catalyst for the creation of more innovative partnerships to address the need for access to high-quality childcare,” Russell Johnson says.

“The lack of accessible childcare is not just an economic barrier — it’s a health equity issue. Partners coming together like this from the public, private, and non-profit sectors represent an incredibly unique and innovative approach to tackling a complex community challenge,” du Lac says.