Building and Renovating Day Care Centers in New York City and Long Island
Day Care Center Construction
There are countless benefits to building a Day Care facility in your community. Children, along with their families, will establish contacts, make important connections, and forge friendships within their neighborhood. Adults will be freed up to work and provide for their children.
And if you run an existing day care center in New York, renovating it to present your best appearance and environment for children will attract more parents and create more interest.
As a specialist in planning and designing day care centers, the award-winning team at Ben’s has put together some helpful information below to help you get your project moving in the right direction. Reach out to us at (516) 623-2945 to discuss the specifics and begin the planning process.
What You Need To Know Before Building or Renovating A Day Care Center
Some of today’s daycare centers are privately run, while others are franchises. Franchises offer proven strategies, and policies necessary for longevity. Furthermore, franchises provide existing branding, design help, and purchasing power, via agreements with vendors for volume discounts. Loans are generally more available for recognizable name brands due to their proven track record.
Day Care Center Funding
The SBA (Small Business Administration) provides funding for construction, expansion, purchase or refinancing of a daycare, child care, preschool, private school, or a Montessori school. The 7a loan in particular, is designed for these businesses, by allowing financing of goodwill and other intangibles; including loan amounts of up to 5 million dollars, with a 25 year amortization, provided commercial real estate is the largest component of the total financing.
Hiring A Design Professional for Your Day Care Center
Once location and funding have been secured, you are ready to hire a design professional. There are two options. My first choice would be to hire a local design professional. The local design professional will be savvy to the town’s codes and zoning requirements, and will be familiar with the officials therein to communicate the proper questions to.
The second option would be to find a designer referred by the franchise. Some franchises require review by a particular architect that they have approved.
Hiring A General Contractor for Your Day Care Center
Once your plans are completed, it is time to hire a licensed general contractor. The first step is to check their references for similar projects. Most building systems are extremely similar, and prior day-care occupancy isn’t necessary. Good questions to ask of your references would be, was the work completed on time? Did the work hold up? Did the contractor offer a warranty of the work? How was the quality of the work? You will want to review the licensing and insurance of prospective bidders. Be careful of hidden charges that other contractors might have omitted from their estimate. This can drive costs up by 50%, or more.
Why Ben’s For Your Day Care Center Construction Project
If you run a day care center or you are thinking about opening a new day care center, reach out to us to discuss your project by calling (516) 623-2945. We are recipients of numerous awards for our work in commercial exteriors and commercial interiors.
Here at Ben’s General Contracting Corp. you will be provided with many references, as well as positive answers to those questions and more. Ben’s will give you a detailed estimate, showing specifically what is included. Make your best decision based on these important factors, knowing you’ve done your homework, assuring the best possible outcome.
