Missouri Child Development Center Completes $2.3M Expansion
The Urban Sprouts Child Development Center in St. Louis, Mo., recently announced the completion of a $2.3-million expansion and adaptive reuse project, according to a news release. The new space includes a retail café, outdoor learning space, and a support office building. The school partnered with KAI Enterprises as the construction manager at risk for the project.
The nonprofit organization was founded in 2009 and is one of the only childcare facilities in the city to use the Reggio Emilia educational approach, the news release reports, which focuses on child-led learning. A 2024 project (on which KAI served as general contractor) consisted of renovating the 14,200-square-foot and joining it to an existing, adjacent facility with a new connecting addition. The latter building was also renovated to feature classrooms, an art room, an outdoor play piazza, and program and administrative space.
The new, 4,437-square-foot expansion involves the adaptive reuse of a former gas station next door into a retail café called Café O’Play, according to the news release, and the renovation of a second building for support offices. “The renovated buildings are connected to the original campus by two parcels of land that KAI transformed into an outdoor experiential learning space with tiered seating and a play area that takes advantage of the site’s natural slope and provides children with a hands-on environment for learning,” the news release reports.
The new addition increase community access to “wraparound family services and food abundance resources,” according to the news release. Café O’Play will serve as a coffee shop and café during the day, and it will offer support programs like after-school tutoring and meals during afternoon and evenings.
“Urban Sprouts is creating opportunities that extend far beyond the walls of a child development center,” said KAI Enterprises CEO Michael B. Kennedy. “What makes this project especially meaningful is the way Urban Sprouts is thinking beyond the traditional boundaries of childcare and creating a place that serves entire families and the broader community. We are proud to continue our partnership with Urban Sprouts and help create spaces that support children and families while strengthening the surrounding community.”
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Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].