A task force is being formed to create a new nonprofit child care center in downtown Wichita.
Board members of the former Downtown Daycare Center are trying to create a new child care option for parents who live or work in the heart of Wichita.
The former center served about 100 infants and children at its site on South Topeka for more than 40 years before it closed in 2014.
To fill the void, board President Betty Moore says they would like to create a centrally located, state-of-the-art child care center, possibly with an indoor play area.
"There are many licensing requirements for such a facility," Moore says. "So we need to find either a facility that can be transformed or build a new one."
The facility will be named the Center City Academy, and it will be accredited.
Moore says they plan to launch a capital campaign to seek public and private funding for the project.
She says downtown Wichita is growing with new businesses and housing options, so there’s a viable need for infant and toddler care.
"Many people were disappointed when we closed and we know that we’ll have a lot of interest in this area, the core of the city, when we reopen," Moore says.
An informational meeting will be held on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Realtors of South Central Kansas office on West Dewey Street in Wichita.
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