Co-working and Childcare at The Aspen House

The Suttons Bay startup has found success, but expects fall hurdles

By Ross Boissoneau | Aug. 23, 2025

“Reliable internet, a hot cup of coffee, a quiet workspace to take calls and meet clients, and a flexible yet affordable way to coordinate some kind of childcare.”

That’s what Kendall Rose was looking for. A working mom with a young child, she ended up purchasing a membership at the YMCA in Traverse City, where she could take advantage of its child watch program while getting some work done. From stealing glances at other young parents working in the common room at the Y, she knew she wasn’t alone.

When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she founded it. Fast-forward and Rose is helming The Aspen House, the Suttons Bay child care/co-working space. “I started working on the concept in February 2024,” says Rose. “This April I secured a location and opened June 9.”

The Co-working Vision

The facility is located in Suttons Bay in the Hansen Foods plaza, in the back half of the building housing Coldwell Banker Schmit Realtors. “We have 3,000 square feet. Half is co-working, half is childcare,” Rose says.

The Aspen House operates on a membership basis. There are three options, from an Unlimited Monthly Membership at $1,299 to a Flexible Monthly Membership at $750 and a $500 Weekly Visit Membership. The scheduling is flexible, with no long-term commitment or paying for days that aren’t used.

The co-working space is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with the option to reserve meeting space and the private call room. The facility includes a communal kitchen space with coffee, tea, and other beverages, and the private care room for breastfeeding, pumping, or feeding.

Given the longstanding need for daycare and the increasing numbers of solopreneurs and remote workers, especially since the pandemic, why haven’t more people tried to do what Rose has done at The Aspen House? One reason is funding. “It’s still a new business model. A challenge is finding funding. It’s hard to find startup capital. It’s still so new a lot of people don’t know what to do with it,” says Rose.

“Childcare is tricky," she adds. "It’s not scalable.”

She believes The Aspen House is the first such endeavor in Michigan, certainly the first in this region. “There are less than 20 in the U.S. We all have chat groups, share resources and ideas. Most started in the last four or five years,” she says.

The Childcare Services

Rose says because the parents are working at the same location as their little ones, the licensing regulations for childcare are not as onerous as those for facilities where parents leave their children. “We’re license-exempt as parents are on-site,” she notes.

Even still, the ratio of children to staff is four to one or less. She has two parttime childcare coordinators and she fills in on the childcare side as needed. “We have a capacity of 12. Our average per day has been four to eight,” she says.

She notes the proximity to both the town and nearby natural resources and attractions as offerings that other facilities cannot offer. Rose intends to build on to offer not only programming for little ones but options and events for adult clients as well.

One such example is the Naturful Fridays Playgroup. The group meets at The Aspen House at 10am, then heads to the Leelanau Trail to walk to Leo Creek Preserve. She also hopes the Aspen House becomes a hub for parent-centric events such as pre- and post-partum support groups, breastfeeding and lactation classes, mental and physical health drop-in sessions, and more.

An Uncertain Path Ahead

But as she looks forward to the start of the school year, Rose does so with some trepidation. Most of her business thus far has come from those visiting the area who needed someplace to work while their offspring are engaged and safely supervised. Come fall, Rose isn’t sure how many fulltime residents will want to take advantage of the service.

“The earliest buy-in came from summer residents. I’m struggling with what it looks like to stay open through the end of the year,” she says. She is concerned that those who don’t need to work in a company office may opt to simply work at home without looking into a combo daycare/workspace model such as The Aspen House.

While the space in Suttons Bay works for her now, she’s not averse to moving or expanding to another location, such as in or nearer Traverse City, with its larger population and larger pool of potential customers. Wherever she goes, she says there are certain elements that are crucial for the success of the childcare/co-working business, as it must cater to both the children’s and the parents’ needs. “Parking is essential. Outside time is pretty essential for this age group. Other [daycare facilities] don’t offer the outdoor component.”

Though Rose isn’t sure what the future holds, she remains optimistic. She says being flexible may be the key to expanding or even simply continuing the business. “Do we need to be licensed to drop off? Do the paperwork to become a nonprofit and get grants?” she wonders.

What does make her hopeful is the reaction from those who have utilized The Aspen House. “The response has been amazing,” she says.

If all the clients are as enthusiastic as Kelsey McCabe, Rose may not have much to worry about. “This is beautiful for both of us,” McCabe says of herself and her six-month-old, Jude.

McCabe and her husband moved to Traverse City a year ago because they saw the area as a great place to raise a family. Both are remote workers, but while her husband has a multi-screen setup in their home office, McCabe is more portable, with a laptop and a cellphone. Plus she wanted to get out and meet more young parents, and what better way to do that than in a co-working/childcare setting?

“The care is like it’s a trusted family member. He’s close by. If they need to, they can come and get me,” she says.