Child care facility in one Mount Vernon church is closing as of August 1, but a new facility opens at another church several blocks away

A child care facility in one Mount Vernon church will close permanently as of Aug. 1, leaving parents scrambling to find alternatives, but a new facility has opened in another church several blocks away.

In a letter dated July 22, the operator of the Mt. Vernon Early Learning Center notified parents that it was closing permanently and had to vacate its location by Aug. 1.

The day care center is located in the basement of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church at 2 E. Mount Vernon Place. The closing comes as the church’s owner, the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, has listed the property for sale, following the death of contract purchaser Joseph Novoseller.

The day care center has provided child care for infants aged six weeks to 24 months and preschoolers aged 3 to 5. It also advertised a summer camp for children aged 4 to 12. It was permitted by the city to accommodate up to 40 children.

“Despite our best efforts to remain at our current location, we have received notice from the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church (BWC) that we…must vacate the premises by August 1^st,” the letter stated in part. “It has been our privilege to serve the community and nurture your dear children at Mt. Vernon Early Learning Center for many years. The joy and satisfaction we have derived from watching your children grow and learn has been immense.”

The letter, signed by ‘Mt. Vernon Early Learning Center,” recommended one option for parents to consider.

“While this news is disheartening,” the letter stated, “we are committed to ensuring that your children’s education and care continue without interruptions. We are pleased to announce that our director has opened a new location, named Little Miracles, just up the road. She has ample space to accommodate our current students 2-5 years old and is excited to welcome you to the new facility…Admissions to families will start August 1.”

Little Miracle’s Big Blessings Childcare Center opened earlier this year in the former Wilkes School space that is part of the Grace & St. Peters Episcopal Church campus at 707 Park Ave. in Mount Vernon. It had an Open House in late June.

Little Miracle’s (www.lmbbchildcare) offers day care from Monday to Saturday for children aged 2 to 5. It has two classrooms for its two divisions: Garden of Butterflies, aged 2 and 3, and Divine Explorers, aged 3 ½ to 5. Its owner and director is Jalisa Daye, the former director of the Mt. Vernon Early Learning Center.

Back on the market

Mt. Vernon Early Learning Center has been a tenant of the Methodist church since Novoseller became the contract purchaser roughly five years ago and was affiliated with the developer, who headed Aria Legacy Group of Lakewood, New Jersey.

Under its arrangement with the Methodist conference, which owns the church, the operators kept proceeds from the early learning center and the conference agreed to pay for heating, electricity and other utilities. The arrangement was negotiated when conference leaders thought the transaction would be completed shortly after the property went under contract, but as the sale dragged out it became a financial drain on the property owner.

The early learning center was in such demand that Novoseller at one point asked the city housing department for permission to increase its enrollment to 80 children. City officials said he would have to add a sprinkler system at the basement level before they would approve a request to increase enrollment – a project that could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Novoseller said in 2022 that he was reluctant to make that investment until he knew that the surrounding community fully supported his plans to buy the church, and the sprinkler system was never installed.

Novoseller died earlier this year without completing his purchase of the church and adjacent Asbury House at 10 E. Mount Vernon Place. The conference has relisted the church with a brokerage that specializes in marketing religious properties, PraiseBuildings.com. The asking price for the church is $1.35 million, but the conference has offered to reduce the price to $600,000 for a buyer who will agree to lease space within the property to the existing church congregation for 49 years. During a recent Open House to promote the sale, the area occupied by the early learning center wasn’t open for inspection.

‘Grandfathered in’

According to city officials, the early learning center cannot continue to operate if the church changes hands because the property doesn’t meet current city zoning requirements related to off-street parking, setback requirements and other physical characteristics.

City officials say the early learning center began operating when the church and Asbury House were listed in state records as one property, and certain conditions that didn’t meet the current code requirements were permitted because they were “grandfathered in” under city regulations. The child care facility replaced a soup kitchen that previously operated from the church basement.

But Novoseller pushed to legally subdivide the two properties so he could sell the Asbury House separately, and the city’s Planning Commission agreed to his request. When the subdivision went through last year and separate deeds were established for the two properties, officials say, the existing conditions that didn’t comply with current city codes were no longer “grandfathered in.”

For example, parking spaces behind Asbury House were available for use by the church staff and building tenants, including the child care center, when the two buildings were listed on one deed. But after the subdivision, most of the parking spaces are now assigned to the Asbury House property and may no longer be available to the church if the properties have separate owners. In the future, officials say, any future tenant of the church basement would need to find a way to meet the city’s current code or ask that present zoning requirements be waived, for an operation such as a child care facility.