Events & Photos
Hamtramck Early Childhood Center
The November 2005 Ribbon Cutting and Open House.
In July of 2004, Wayne-Metro purchased a vacant building on Mitchell street and transformed it into a state of the art facility, making a permanent home for more than 250 Head Start and Even Start children and parents who attend classes there each day. This 17,000 square foot building includes nine pre-school classrooms, an adult literacy classroom, infant and toddler rooms, indoor/outdoor playgrounds, a conference training room, a speech therapy room, full kitchen, a library, and office space.
Programmatic Impact
Since 1999, Wayne-Metro has been providing Head Start Program services to the residents of Hamtramck, Highland Park, and Harper Woods. Even Start was added in. During this time, the availability of safe, appropriate, and dependable space has continued to be an ongoing challenge. While the City of Hamtramck school district has continued to grow, charter schools have been aggressive at securing other available spaces. Wayne-Metro partnered with Catholic schools to secure classroom space, however over the past five years the agency was displaced from three facilities.
The personality of the building emerges.
Despite the many challenges, the agency's commitment to providing a permanent home for the Head Start and Even Start programs remained strong. Through the new facility, the agency's Head Start and Even Start programs will continue to provide family-centered pre-school, adult education and family support services to low-income residents of Hamtramck. In addition, it will also provide new opportunities for summer recreation and education, emergency services, and employment and training counseling in the city.
Fiscal Impact
Prior to opening the Center, the agency paid rent for several facilities for Head Start and Even Start programming. Rent coupled with ongoing repairs and the substantial cost of renovations required for licensing and relocations was significantly impacting the program's operating costs. The debt service on the new facility is less than the former rent payments. In addition, on-going renovation costs are have been virtually eliminated since the Center was completely rehabilitated. Maintenance costs have also decreased because the building was designed specifically for early childhood and pre-school education.
The existing structure was previously an Enterprise Rental Company
Less than half of the building was two-stories and was used for office space
The other half was a large open area
A second floor had to be created in this space
An elevator shaft was created along with a brand new elevator for the building
The second story is constructed
The framing takes place
The framing continues
The classrooms begin to take shape
The colors are bright and vibrant
The designs are unique and catchy
The spaces are open and playful
A full-frontal view of the building
A close up view of the building