Cary could get big daycare near planned Apple campus in RTP

The Cary Town Council could annex land Thursday night to make way for a future daycare near the planned Apple campus in Research Triangle Park.

Celebree School, a Maryland-based child-care company, wants to build a 10,000-square-foot daycare center at 11550 Green Level Church Road.

The nearly 2-acre site area is across from Alston Ridge Elementary School and near the location for Apple’s future $552 million campus in RTP off N.C. 540.

The daycare center is part of Celebree School plans to expand across the country, with additional corporate hubs and daycare centers in Atlanta, Boston, Houston and Orlando by the end of 2024. The Cary location could open by the end of this year.

The Cary Town Council will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (July 27) in Cary Town Hall, after which the council could vote.

What we know about the daycare center

The daycare would serve about 175 children, according to Adam Sellner, the project director for Charlotte-based real estate company Primax Properties.

Families with children from 6 weeks old to pre-K could enroll at the daycare, which could include an 8,000-square-foot playground, kitchenette, and 46 parking spaces.

All the Celebree School locations are private and require families to pay tuition, with financial aid available. The school did not respond to an inquiry from The News & Observer on Wednesday for information about enrollment and other fees.

Each year, families with younger children can pay thousands in child care, according to the N.C. Department of Labor. On average, the cost of child care for an infant in North Carolina is $9,255, which is more than the cost of a year of tuition at a public college. Child care costs about $7,590 for a toddler.

The Cary daycare would employ about 30 people, according to a report by Triangle Business Journal.

In 2021, there were 2,000 fewer child-care workers in the state than the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Providers were struggling with staffing before the pandemic, which only exacerbated the issue, according to the state Department of Commerce.

Building permits for the daycare center are still under review and if the town council votes to annex the land, the next steps include the town reviewing the construction plans, Sellner said.