At the most recent Mecosta County Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, the board discussed an application to convert a former marijuana provisioning facility into an after-school child care center.

New owners John and Julie Miller, originally from Michigan, recently operated a similar facility in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. 

“We had our daughter at Big Rapids Hospital and our hearts are near and dear to the area,” John Miller said at the meeting. “When we were looking at places to come back to, this made so much sense because you just don’t have access to anything that we would provide.”

The Millers plan to serve up to 36 school-age children, in line with the 18-children-per-caregiver government regulations. Initial hours would be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

The building, located at 701 Maple Street, was previously the site of 20 Past 4 Dispensary, which operated from 2024 until it recently closed. It includes commercial space on the ground floor and two apartment units upstairs that had been used as rentals. They have the property under contract as of May 4, 2026.

The applicants were seeking a variance to reduce parking requirements. Current ordinances require one parking space per bedroom for the residential units — six spaces total — and one parking space per three children for the child care center. The Millers wanted to lower the residential requirement from six spaces to two and adjust the child care parking ratio.

“Children are coming in and aging out all the time,” John Miller said. “We want to be able to fill up maximum slots, in recognition that at any given point some number of children will drop out of enrollment for aging out, moving on to different programs or moving out of the area."

Concerns were raised during the meeting about traffic flow in the area, but board members recommended approval of the variance.

The timeline for renovations and an opening is unknown at this time.