Colgate University agrees to buy nursery school building

HAMILTON  —  Colgate University plans to purchase a building for a group of children younger than its usual demographic.

The liberal arts university in Hamilton has agreed to buy a facility Chenango Nursery School (CNS) owns at 59 W. Kendrick Ave., it said today. Colgate University will then renovate the structure, expand it, and lease it back to the nursery school. CNS will continue to be responsible for operating child-care services in the building, however.

Renovations are set to add between 16 and 20 new slots at CNS for children between 6 weeks old and 5 years old. The move comes after CNS’s waitlist jumped from about 12 to 27 in 2011 and 2012.

“This is an investment in Hamilton’s future,” Colgate University President Jeffrey Herbst said in a news release. “We anticipate a need to support the likely influx of younger families to the area. If they find day-care solutions in Hamilton, they will be much more likely to settle in Hamilton, which is good for the entire community.”

CNS and Colgate expect to close the building sale in March. They did not release financial details of their agreement.

Planned capital improvements at the nursery school include adding two new classrooms, a multipurpose room, a larger kitchen, and a playground. They also include the addition of a new infant room, doubling the number of infants CNS can accept from eight to 16.

“We have a wonderful relationship with Colgate to build upon, and as a result our facility will be much improved, more accessible, and even safer,” CNS Director Denise Dinski said. “But organizationally, nothing will change. We remain committed to the early education of our most precious children.”

CNS is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that currently enrolls 113 infants and children. Colgate University has 2,900 students.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com