Major Structural Issues Cause Closure of Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center at 57 Lyme St.; Decision Taken to Demolish Building, Rebuild: UPDATED

Center Hopes to Reopen in 2024, Plans Requires Approval From OL Historic District Commission, 12 Families Affected by Closure, Toddler and School Age Programs Not Affected by Decision

OLD LYME — 2/22 9am UPDATE (in italics): Kristen St. Germain, Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center (OLCLC) Board Chairman, has clarified today that no final decision has yet been taken on the proposed demolition as they are in early stages of their decision making.

She states by email, “The OLCLC Board believes at this point that it is the best course of action financially, but members recognize they still await key information. This includes the final costs of demolition and reconstruction, required permits and approvals from the Town of Old Lyme, and a decision from their insurance company regarding compensation.” 

St. Germain adds, “Our priority has always been to provide an affordable childcare service to families and that we work hard to cover operational costs only. We do not have an endowment to draw from nor do we have a profit margin that allows us to be anything but fiscally responsible with this decision.”

2/20 8:32am: When a minor leak was discovered at the end of January inside the historic building owned by the Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center (OLCLC) at 57 Lyme St., the last thing anyone was expecting was that the building would end up being scheduled for demolition.

The OLCLC closed temporarily when the leak was discovered with the expectation that it would be repaired and the facility reopened by the middle of March. But as the work continued, one issue led to another and ultimately it was determined that a structural beam at the foot of the house was rotted to such an extent that the property was deemed irreparable and would need to be demolished.

Kristen St. Germain, who serves as the OLCLC Board Chair, explained to LymeLine by phone on Friday that the board intends to rebuild on the same site and reopen the Center sometime in 2024.

She explained, “Sadly 12 families in the Infants and Transition sections have had to find new daycare options,” and, “We had to let some staff go.” Fortunately, however, “The Toddler section takes place n the building behind the property [57 Lyme St.] and is unaffected,” Similarly, she noted the school-age programs of Before- and After-School Care are held in Center School and similarly not impacted by the decision.

St. Germain emphasized that the OLELC Board recognizes, “This is going to be hard.” She noted the Center has never had a mortgage as the building was bequeathed to the OLCLC Board by the late Connie Pike, and said, “The biggest obstacle is going to be financial. We are going to have to apply for a loan.”

Pointing out, “This couldn’t have come at a worse time. Our programs are thriving,” St. Germain noted a major fundraising effort would be launched when the project is closer to being fully underway. She also said that insurance options on the building are being investigated.

The Center was established in 1987 as Old Lyme Daycare and, according to the OLCLC website, “was shaped by the vision of Mrs. Connie Pike, a generous donor and supporter of the Center.” 

Procedurally, the first thing the OLCLC Board has to do is submit an application to the Old Lyme Historic District Commission to demolish and rebuild the property.

Construction of the new property is anticipated to take 12 months.

St. Germain stressed that support through this challenging period has been extremely strong, noting, “Our parents have been awesome,” and adding positively, “By all giving our very best efforts, we will get through this.”

She concluded firmly, “if we’re going to do this [rebuild the Center], we ‘re going to do it right.”