The LeRoy Daycare Centre is expanding with renovations and an approval for much needed additional spaces.  

The closure of the seniors' lodge in LeRoy led to an opportunity for the adjoining childcare centre to expand and add much needed additional spaces. The original daycare opened in 2019 as an attached space to the Evergreen Country Home. The seniors' home was not fully occupied, so a combination of new and existing space allowed for the startup daycare centre to partner with its senior neighbours. The pandemic and underuse spelled the eventual closure of the home. 

“With the Evergreen Home, they tried to reopen the doors, and it just wasn’t feasible, so we bought the building in 2023,” explains Kim Block, chair of LeRoy Daycare Incorporated. “We had a waitlist of approximately 40 kids, so we needed to expand our space which is where the opportunity came up to buy the building.” 

Once the purchase went through, the daycare set about renovations to expand the space to accommodate up to ninety children. The daycare is on track to be approved for 50 spaces, and then pending need, an application could go ahead to the government for additional spaces to be allotted.  

“We’ll have to find more staff,” Block says. “Once we see the need grow more with the up-and-coming BHP mine, then we can apply to the government, get more spaces, and everything is already renovated so there’s no wait time.” 

The increase in the waitlist is a clear indication that the current allotment of 20 which marked the start of the daycare four plus years ago is no longer sufficient. There are also 15 school age kids who take advantage of the space for a before-and-after school program.  

The interior walls of the former residence rooms are coming down to make for larger areas withing the building. There will be a room for infants, preschoolers, toddlers and school-aged kids. Much of the remainder of the renovation is cosmetic, Block says.  

“It sounds simple, but it’s going to cost a lot of money and a lot of work.” The drawings and the first code review are done, and then the project will go out to tender. The hope is that the work is completely in 2024, but it’s largely going to be determined by worker availability and the eventual scope of the project.  

Inquiries about spaces can be made to leroydaycare@gmail.com.