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The Nutshell
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Renovation And Expansion
The
renovation and expansion
of our Walnut Avenue facilities has begun!
Our
Groundbreaking was a huge success! On St Patrick's Day over 70 community
members, Women's Center staff and Children gathered to break ground on this
amazing community project. The first step will be the remodel and expansion of
the historical building. This includes 2 new meeting rooms and 2 additional
offices for Domestic Violence and Youth Development Services. This first step
also includes the addition of an elevator so the entire building will be
accessible.
2008, the
new Downtown Children’s Center and Family
Literacy Center will be complete. The second floor will offer affordable housing for childcare
staff. We are also renovating our historical building, adding an elevator to
make the second floor accessible and increasing space for our comprehensive programs.
Downtown Children’s Center
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2 classrooms- our capacity will be
doubled from 16 to 32 children, giving families on our waiting list access to
quality childcare.
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Separate spaces for toddlers and preschoolers-
separate classrooms and playgrounds will offer developmentally appropriate
learning.
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Family Literacy Center- the central area of the
new building will be a new space for families to grow together, offering
computers, books, and other family literacy materials. |
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Director’s office next to toddler classroom-
the director will be more accessible to parents, teachers, and children and will
be able to monitor classroom activities. |
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Kitchen with open window bar to preschool
classroom- this will allow the cook to interact with the preschoolers in a
kitchen-classroom setting, facilitating learning activities for nutrition and
cooking. |
Affordable Staff Housing
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Teachers
on site- we will promote staff retention by helping our dedicated childcare
staff afford to live near where they work and save for a first home.
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Conserving
Santa Cruz
land- we will increase affordable
housing without decreasing open land by placing staff housing on the second
floor of the new building.
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Accessible Space
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New
elevator- the large upstairs area of the main building will soon be easily
accessible by an elevator. |
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New
program space- the main building will have new offices and meeting rooms
helping us deliver programs to our participants more efficiently. |
Environmental Considerations
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Green
Building- Our goal is to have the least amount of environmental impact as
possible. We are designing, building and supplying the building with
recycled materials and using local vendors whenever possible. Our design
will also create energy-efficient systems. |
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Natural
surroundings- children will use touch and smell to explore nature with many
plants and organics materials in our new playgrounds. |
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Historic
integrity- our new look will be in keeping wit the appearance of Walnut
Avenue and the downtown area, and has been approved by the Santa Cruz
Historic Preservation Commission. |
Development Team
Our expansion is possible because of the
dedication of our partners ChildCare Ventures, Boone/Low Architects, Joni L.
Janecki & Assoc., Inc (Landscape Architects), and Barry Swenson Builder.
Together, we strive to create an accessible, high quality setting for families,
keeping in harmony with the environment and the historical integrity of Santa
Cruz. This collaborative is committed to building a safe place for families to
grow together, learn, and thrive.
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