Child care center is set to close

GLENDALE — New Horizons Family Center will close its child development center on South Glendale Avenue at the end of the month, citing the facility’s high rents.

The organization’s board of directors decided to focus on the future of the organization — and the construction of its new two-story, $4.5-million child development center, which will be built on the 1200 block of South Maryland Avenue — rather than continuing to rent the leased facility for about $6,000 a month, said Maria Rochart, the executive director of the organization. New Horizons provides preschool, mental health and youth services for children and families. The child development center provides preschool and day care services for children from 6 weeks to 5 years old.

“The rent just keeps going up and up and up,” Rochart said. “It’s not a setback, but it’s restructuring to move forward.”

In the interim, New Horizons is working to create a smaller, temporary version of its preschool program to accommodate the older children, who go to the current child development center, Rochart said.

The new program would be housed in the nonprofit’s Youth Recreation Center, which is also on South Glendale Avenue, said Gigi Plasencia, director of the child development center. The temporary preschool has the capacity to serve about 17 of the 50 children who are served by the child development center, Plasencia said.

The youth facility can hold one classroom of 3-year-olds and one classroom of 4-year-olds, but not younger children, Rochart said, so New Horizons is referring the younger children to other child care programs in the area.

The nonprofit informed parents in January about the change and started working on acquiring a license from the state to create a preschool in the youth center, Rochart said. The organization hopes that the older children can transition directly from the current center to the preschool at the youth center without interruption, Rochart said.

“We are getting a tiny part of the youth building licensed for 3s and 4s,” Plasencia said.

New Horizons provided the parents of the youngest children with lists of other child care facilities nearby, and Plasencia visited some of the centers so that New Horizons could make informed recommendations to parents, Rochart said.

“They understand,” Plasencia said about the affected parents. “All of our parents have been very supportive.”