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Daycare center expands into former CJ’s Appliance building

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An imagined version of “the castle” which will be installed indoors at Noah’s Ark Daycare Center.

FARMINGTON – Local families are lining up in anticipation of an expanding childcare center; local provider Amy Bell will be offering an additional 37 slots for infants to pre-schoolers, including after school care for kids up to 12 years old.

“The community has received the news in a big way. I had 15 calls the first day I announced it,” Bell said.

Noah’s Ark Daycare currently cares for 12 children out of Bell’s home on the South Strong Road, but Bell said she has been looking for the right place to expand into for a while. When CJ’s Appliance at 279 Titcomb Hill Road closed, Bell and her husband were invited to look at the space.

“I could just see my sign over the front door,” she said.

The open space will be renovated into several separated classrooms, as well as some common areas and a cafeteria. The front right-hand corner will be turned into an indoor gross motor area, complete with a Maine-made CedarWorks climbing structure. Bell said she’s calling it “the castle.”

“It has a giant blue twisty slide…I knew I had to have it. I want people to have that aw moment when they walk through the door,” Bell said.

Bell plans to rent out the space for birthday parties and special events, filling a much-needed gap after the closing of No Parents Allowed, she said.

“A lot of doors around here have been closing, but now mine will be opening,” she said.

Bell has been in the business of childcare for 18 years. She hired her first employee seven years ago and is looking at having six employees in the new space. She will be fully licensed and accredited by the state. She will continue to serve home cooked meals in a commercial kitchen area that will also be available for rent to families. Bell and her husband, who is a carpenter, will be working on renovating the space for the month of July with the hopes of opening the doors early August.

“I don’t know completely what things will look like yet, but I know what I stand for. I want this to feel like home. I want to be their family,” Bell said.

Amy Bell stands in the blank slate of the future home of Noah’s Ark Daycare Center.
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8 Comments

  1. I know my kiddos and I are super excited to start at the new place when it opens! Congratulations!

  2. So excited for Amy, her excellent team, and the kiddos that get to enjoy this new endeavor! We are all truly blessed!

  3. Sounds so fun….can’t wait to see the end results. Congratulations to you Amy!!

  4. To Amy and John and all the people who are making this dream come true. Thank-you for your vision and making it all come true.

    Best wishes .

    Audrey

  5. I couldn’t be prouder of my daughter, thank god she got her mother’s looks🙂

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