Brandeis Doubling Local Childcare Spots with New Facility, Slated to Open in 2014

September 24, 2013 : Boston.com, by Jaclyn Reiss

Waltham residents with kids, rejoice: there’s a new option for childcare coming to town by next year.

Brandeis University broke ground today on a new $2.5 million, 7,000 square foot childcare center that will help the university double the center’s capacity to 78 kids and add a few infant care spots, officials said.

The construction began as the school announced this week that MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, issued $36.5 million in tax-exempt bonds on the university’s behalf.

The bonds, mostly used for the new childcare center, will also go towards renovations to three campus buildings – the East Quad residence hall and two research buildings, Schwartz and Lemberg halls.

The new childcare building, which is located on campus and slated to be completed by early 2014, serves a mix of both Brandeis faculty and staff, as well as parents from the general public, said Brandeis spokeswoman Ellen de Graffenreid.

“An increase in childcare is good in any community, and the increased enrollment will help us pay for the new facility,” de Graffenreid said.

The new building on Old South Street, which sits on Brandeis’ campus, will also help add jobs and internships normally sought out by Brandeis students and graduates interested in child development and research, she said.

The old facility, which de Graffenreid said has recently teetered on the edge of not standing up to childcare codes, will be converted into a research center.

For more information, visit Brandeis’ website.