Former Grace Lutheran In Santa Maria To Be CommUnify’s Latest Head Start Preschool
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - CommUnify and its board announced the acquisition of a Santa Maria property that will house a new preschool and childcare center.
It’s a new type of acquisition for the real estate firm representing the non-profit.
The sixty-year-old non-profit purchased the former Grace Lutheran Preschool building on East Fesler Street, with plans to transform it into a Head Start preschool.
“The facility that we've just purchased will be our 19th Head Start facility here in Santa Barbara County,” says Patricia Keelean, CommUnify’s Chief Executive Officer.
This child care and early education center will serve up to 70 local low-income children and their families.
“We're extremely excited about being in Santa Maria and this location in particular,” says Jennifer MacDonald, CommUnify’s Children Services Director.
It will be upgraded with four classrooms, a commercial kitchen, outdoor learning space, and two play yards.
“They'll be renovating what is now a courtyard,” says MacDonald. “We plan on having that be a toddler yard. And in the back of one of these classrooms will have an infant yard as well. And then redevelop the preschool yard. So there'll be three outdoor classrooms.”
The four indoor classrooms will be divided among infants and toddlers.
“Two preschool classrooms for children, 3 to 5 and two infant toddler classrooms for children three months to three years of age,” says MacDonald.
CommUnify bought the vacant property from Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Santa Maria for $950,000 in a sale that closed at the end of last month.
“At Radius, a lot of the times we're working with profit driven investors,” says Jack Gilbert, senior associate for Radius Commercial Real Estate working with the Golis team. “And so I think this transaction was a little bit unique in the sense that we're working with a nonprofit.”
CommUnify is funding the project with a $1.3 million infrastructure grant from the California Department of Social Services, along with a loan from the Low-Income Investment Fund.
“There are still needs that we need to address in order to prepare this site for licensure,” says Keelean.
The organization also plans to launch a capital campaign this fall.
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