The Concord Family YMCA is more than just a place to work out. It’s really a place for the whole family to improve and help with many aspects of life, child care chief among them.
Right next to the main YMCA facility is the Child Development Center, a high-quality preschool and after-school program for kids. At any given time, there are about 150 to 200 kids in the building, plus 25 to 30 staff members, said Jim Doremus, director and CEO.
The thing is, despite the high level of care offered at the Child Development Center, the building itself had become fairly run down after years of hard use by hundreds of kids every day. The look of the place just didn’t match the quality of the program, Doremus said.
“The building had not really undergone any kind of extensive improvements since it was purchased by the developer,” he said. “Just a lot of wear and tear.”
That’s why they decided to spruce the place up, something the building was long overdue for.
The staffers refer to the building as the old firehouse building, as that was its purpose when it was built in 1875. The Y acquired it in the mid to late 1990s, and it hadn’t really changed much at all until very recently.
Now, the building has a whole new look and feel, and there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony next Wednesday, June 27, at 5:30 p.m. to celebrate the makeover.
As far as what kind of work was done, Doremus said it’s mostly cosmetics improvements.
“We really didn’t make any structural changes,” he said. “New flooring, energy-efficient lighting, repaired walls, upgraded all the bathrooms, put protective coverings along the walls to help protect them. New millwork. We also, as part of the project, we purchased new furniture and other accessories.”
The result is a much more modern, more efficient space with aesthetic upgrades everywhere you look. And while the makeover did a lot to transform the Child Development Center, it did not change the footprint, meaning the project did not increase the size of the space.
The main idea, though, was to bring the physical building up to the same level as the programming and care offered there.
“The impetus was, we have a really good program but unfortunately the facility didn’t mirror the quality of the program,” Doremus said. “Our child-care program is certified and licensed plus, which is a higher level of quality. For our preschool childcare program we provide child care from infants to age 6, and the after-school program called Kydstop for elementary school kids.”
The building is also listed as a historic structure, and Doremus said they wanted to do their part to take better care of it.
In the end, the makeover “boosts morale for families and kids in the program and also our staff,” Doremus said.
To attend the ribbon-cutting, RSVP to dgalipeault@concordymca.org or call 228-9622 by Friday.
