Our World Montessori opens new facility in Niskayuna

A new childcare center near some of the region's largest employers has opened with capacity to grow.

Our World Montessori held an official opening last week at its new 5,600-square-foot daycare center at 46 Commerce Park Drive in Niskayuna. 

The $2.4 million project overseen by Schenectady-based developer Spraragen Partners, which purchased the 2.6-acre site in Niskayuna Commerce Park, gave the decades-old school a new home for the fall after its lease of a property 2 miles away at 1335 Balltown Road was not renewed.

"Investing in childcare is an investment in our families, our workforce and our community," Brooke Spraragen of Spraragen Partners said in a statement. "When we learned the school was at risk of closing, we saw an opportunity not only to preserve an established childcare provider but to create a permanent home that could serve even more families for years to come."

The project garnered a $500,000 grant from Empire State Development and support from the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority. Capital Bank, a division of Elmira-based Chemung Canal Trust Co., provided financing.

The new facility has five classrooms and outdoor play areas. It has the potential to accommodate up to 80 children, whereas limitations of the prior space capped enrollment at about 46 students, the school said.

Our World Montessori has operated in the area for more than 22 years. Its programs serve children from 18 months to 6 years old.

Major employers in the Niskayuna area include GE Vernova, GE Aerospace, Momentive and the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.

Demand for childcare exceeds the amount of slots available across the region. Tiny Town of Colonie's Kristen Blais told the Business Review earlier this year that the waitlist for her two daycare sites exceeded 1,300 families.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration has awarded more than $150 million in construction funding to expand childcare across the state, including a recent $5 million award for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy to build its own 15,000-square-foot child development center.

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