Rockwell Collins to move Child Development Center

CEDAR RAPIDS - A vacant building off Blairs Ferry Road NE originally constructed for an outdoor recreation retailer will instead be used by Rockwell Collins.

Rockwell plans to move its Child Development Center to the building, 1215 Skylee Dr. NE, at the beginning of 2019, spokeswoman Pam Tvrdy-Cleary said. The company's Child Development Center currently is located at 5245 Northland Ave. NE.

About 300 to 350 children are enrolled in the Child Development Center, depending on the time of year, Tvrdy-Cleary said. Moving into the new location will give the program room for expansion, she said.

It was not immediately clear what would occupy the Northland Avenue building after Rockwell moves the development center. Rockwell currently leases the space, but the lease ends in December.

The 52,000-square-foot building on Skylee Drive was supposed to be the location of a new Gander Mountain store. Those plans were put on hold after Gander Mountain filed for bankruptcy last year.

Instead, a new Gander Outdoors store - the corporate successor to Gander Mountain - is expected to open at a former Gander Mountain location at 2140 Edgewood Rd. SW later this year. Gander Outdoors initially had said on its website the Cedar Rapids store would open in May. It now reports the store will open in July.

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