COEUR d’ALENE — The Salvation Army Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene is about to get bigger.

A two-part project, expected to start in late February, will build a new entryway and expand the center’s Play Care Center to accommodate more kids in the childcare and after-school programs.

Construction will take about 120 to 130 days to complete, according to the Kroc Center’s executive director, Maj. Ben Markham. It will cost about $850,000, which will be covered by the Salvation Army’s capital reserve funds.

The Kroc Center will continue to be open for its normal hours during construction.

“With our growth with families, especially families with kids, we are facing challenges of having space for the day care operation ... and we want more space for the youth programming,” Markham told The Press in an interview Friday.

Markham said Kroc has 16,000 members and anticipates growth around 3 to 4 percent a year.

The new entryway, he said, is designed to eliminate many problems such as snow and ice covering the grates in front of the building and the loss of heat from the current double doors being opened at the same time.

Construction will focus heavily on the entryway so as not to hinder people's ability to enter the building for any longer than needed. During construction, the only available entrance will be through the east-end double doors, which the Kroc Center said will be well marked.

The 2,000-square-foot addition to the Play Care Center will be on the southeast side of the existing Play Care wall, replacing an “underutilized outdoor patio and fire place,” according to the Kroc Center’s website.

The expansion will allow the Kroc Center to care for more children and expand its afternoon youth programs.

Construction will typically take place Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a fenced-off area in front of the building, where equipment will be operating.

During construction, Play Care will be held in the Kootenai and River rooms of the Community Wing. Check-in and check-out will be in the River room.

“We think this is just going to be another way to provide recreational, social and educational opportunities for our young people,” Markham said. “I think this will make a big difference.”