About 100 daycare slots are going away. This is hard news for residents in the city where daycare waiting lists can last many months to years, especially for low-income residents.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco sold the building that is home to Children's Village daycare last month to a group of investors. That was after notifying parents a year ago of its plan to close it at the end of June this year. Some parents don't think that is enough time to find an alternative. The parents have a plan to keep it open and they want to meet with the new owners again.
"I want them to come back to the table and honor our proposal," said parent Megan Laurance.
"And what is that?" asked ABC7's Terry McSweeney.
"To lease the property until we have an opportunity to bring this program elsewhere," said Laurance.
"How long do you think you can lease it for?" asked McSweeney.
"I think within a couple of years we can find an appropriate place for Children's Village to go to and we have got the cash," said Laurance.
"We absolutely agree that we need more childcare. With that said, we don't have a lot of options to keep the program open. Our lease is up and we have an agreement to vacate the property," said Gabrielle Slanina of Catholic Charities.
A spokesman for the investors said the parents are only offering 10 cents on the dollar to lease back Children's Village. Also the investors have a prospective tenant who will pay market value.
Catholic Charities will open up a new daycare facility about three blocks away on Mission Street. Parents believe that it will not be open for another 18 to 24 months.
The developers will not say what they will be building in the new lot. They have said that it won't be condos and will be within the zoning ordinance of San Francisco.
