BU Children’s Center

10 Lenox Street

The new space for the BU Children’s Center is triple the capacity of its old home at 32 Harris Agganis Way. Its new home, tucked in Brookline’s historic Cottage Farm neighborhood is a 20,000 sq.ft. Tudor Revival mansion. This project allows for the Children’s Center and the Family Resources Office to be under one roof.

This project was initiated based on recommendations outlined in the Child Care Advisory Committee Report submitted in March 2015, when the University defined a need to expand and relocate the Children’s Center.

In June 2017, BU studied the possibility of relocating to an existing three-story building located at 10 Lenox Street and abutting parcel at 146 Carlton Street in the Cottage Farm Local Historic District of Brookline. The feasibility study strived to understand the practicality and affordability of converting the main building, supporting garages, and large private yard into a daycare facility serving children (ages 0 to 5) of BU staff, faculty, and graduate students. This move would increase the number of children served from the current capacity of 33 to 92 children. In addition, the hope was to provide space for the Family Resources Office.

Program and existing conditions studies were performed in fall-winter 2017 with conceptual and schematic design work following into spring 2018. A budget and schedule was developed and the project received SPACE Committee approval on May 1, 2018, including authorization to proceed with an expansion scenario involving a second floor addition over the connector and garage to enable potential expansion of the center of upwards to 92 children or more.

Some of the highlights of the project include:

• Beautiful historic building and grounds
• Less urban surroundings are more compatible for early child care use
• Home-like setting
• Optimize utilization of property, remediation
• Larger site allows for:
  • Infant, mixed infant/toddler, and toddler
  • Mixed-age preschool and Pre-K classrooms
  • Ample private outdoor play area
  • Challenging play equipment and free play areas
  • Indoor gross-motor areas for inclement weather
• Consolidation of Children’s Center and Family Resources Office into one location
• LEED
  • Make the existing building more energy efficient and LEED-accredited to align with both the BU and Town of Brookline Climate Action Plans.