SOUTH KINGSTOWN
-- A nine-year-old day care center called A Place to Grow is looking for just that -- a place to expand, or at least to operate.
The center, which cares for 110 children, must leave its leased spot near South County Hospital by June 2003.
The hospital wants to use the site for a medical service that will generate more money for the 100-bed hospital, which posted a $1.9-million loss last year.
But finding a new home won't be easy, said Jennifer DeFrance, the center's executive director.
The problem? A Place to Grow needs 6,500- to 7,000-square feet for its classrooms, offices and kitchen, plus another 4,300-square feet for an outdoor playground. But the nonprofit company can only afford about $15 a square foot, DeFrance said.
DeFrance said she has talked to University of Rhode Island officials, real estate brokers, town planners and the developer of the Village at South County Commons about relocating.
"We just don't have a place to go. Next year is our 10th anniversary ... and it should be a time when we can celebrate with plans for a new site, but that's turning out to be more difficult than we ever imagined," DeFrance said.
The inability to find a new home is hurting business. Although there is a waiting list for the center, the number of parents on the list has dropped in the past year. "We've lost some families because of the uncertainty," DeFrance said.
The center, on Kenyon Avenue, cares for infants, toddlers and kindergarten-age children, and employs 40 people, including 17 URI interns.
It was founded nine years ago by the hospital and VNS Home Health Care Services. But VNS, once headquartered in the building, has departed. And the number of hospital employees who use the center has dwindled to less than a dozen, Prager said.
The hospital is in the midst of a $20-million expansion plan. Last week, it opened a new operating room -- its fifth -- with wiring for teleconferencing. A new emergency wing and outpatient diagnostic center are also planned.
The additions won't encroach on the child-care site, near the hospital's front entrance parking lot. But the hospital needs the space to make money, Prager said.
"There's not a firm plan for the site other than to bring in a hospital service that will bring in revenue and help offset losses," she said. "They're a great day care," said Prager of Room to Grow. The hospital even extended the company's lease earlier, she said, "but at this point, we need to be very fiscally focused."
The center, which buys hot lunches from the hospital, provides daycare to workers at URI and America Power Conversion, in West Kingston. About two dozen hospital families are on the center's waiting list, DeFrance said.
"We would prefer to remain in the greater Wakefield area with easy access to Route 1. The hospital is an excellent institution. Unfortunately, we never thought we'd be in this position," said DeFrance. "I don't want closing our doors to be an option."
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