The Springfield Area Parent Child Center (SAPCC) has chartered plans to construct a $3.9 million facility adjacent to its current building with a new road leading to the center.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
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SPRINGFIELD--From humble beginnings on Myrtle Street in 1992, the Springfield Area Parent Child Center (SAPCC) has moved to its prime Main Street location in North Springfield. Now the center has chartered plans to construct a $3.9 million facility adjacent to its current building with a new road leading to the center.
ReplyDeleteAt Monday night's Springfield Select Board meeting, SAPCC Executive Director Betty Kinsman said that the center has increased the scope of its offerings to include classes for pregnant and parenting teens, job training skills and home visits. Those unacquainted with SAPCC, she said, frequently mistake it for being just a childcare center.
"We are way more than a childcare center," said Kinsman. "We offer a ton of things." She added that the existing building will still be owned by the center, and will likely be the home of the Myrtle's Closet thrift shop.
Over the past year and a half, the center has worked with architect Mike Purvis of Woodstock-based SMPIV Designs to design its proposed building.
Architectural renderings revealed a modern Greek revival building, designed "to have a residential feel, and also to not overwhelm the site," Purvis said.
The board did not take action on whether to grant SAPCC a new road, though Chairman Mark Blanchard said he did not forsee any problems with the center's plans.
"It's a good-looking design," he said. "We can definitely get behind it."
Selectman Michael Knoras pointed out that the center will have to apply for a permit for its new facility through the Vermont Act 250 process.
"It all hinges on what permits they get," he said.
Fellow Selectman John Swanson questioned whether in the future it might be helpful for Main Street in North Springfield to be renamed so as to avoid confusion with the Main Street in downtown Springfield. Kinsman said that the move would likely reduce the traffic of tractor-trailers and other lost drivers in the area.
"These poor truckers tell us it's their GPS systems," she said. "It's confusing to lead people to Main Street, and they get there and there we are."
A significant portion of the funding for the project will come from the Rural Development initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, though Kinsman said that the center will begin fundraising in earnest after the New Year.
By Katie Beth Ryan, Staff Writer
Eagle-Times