Lightbridge Academy, a franchised early childhood education and day care center chain that has locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina, now has a presence in Westchester.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Nov. 19 for Lightbridge’s new location in the mixed-use building known as The Elm at 35 Valley Road in Elmsford. The location is being operated by husband and wife franchisees Ram and JoAnne Jagadeesan.
They decided to lease 10,000 square feet of space for the academy from developer Robert Martin Company (RMC), which constructed the luxury mixed-use building close to Exit 21 of the Saw Mill River Parkway; a groundbreaking was held in March.
The academy provides education and care for children ages six weeks through kindergarten, as well as special programming for children up to 10 years old during school holidays, breaks and summer camp.
RMC reports that The Elm is now fully leased. It has 100 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Among the amenities at The Elm are a fitness center, café and entertainment lounge, electric car charging stations and covered parking spaces.
“It was only a few months ago we were here for the groundbreaking ceremony, and we were eagerly awaiting for this day to come so there will be more access to much-needed child care in Elmsford and in the area,” Elmsford Mayor Robert Williams said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
RMC”™s CEO Tim Jones and President Greg Berger both praised Lightbridge Academy as a welcome amenity for residents of The Elm while also providing a benefit to the community.
Lightbridge Academy was established in 1997 and began franchising in 2011. It is based in Iselin, New Jersey, and uses a network of real estate brokers to help would-be franchisees identify locations that are appropriate. Selection criteria include the size of adult and child populations in an area, household income, traffic counts, favorable lease terms, building size and other factors.
Kathleen Halas, executive director of the Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc., attended the ribbon-cutting and said, “We hope this model inspires other developers to consider bringing new or existing child care businesses into their spaces, and we”™re eager to support such efforts.”
