GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Henrico County officials and franchise owners of Primrose Schools joined together on Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new $9 million childcare center in Glen Allen.
Members of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors, and the Henrico Economic Development Authority were joined by Zeel Desai-Patel and Ritesh Patel, who are the franchise owners of the new Glen Allen location of a Primrose School.
The Primrose School of Glen Allen is the 13th location of the school network in Central and Eastern Virginia. Primrose Schools was founded in 1982 and has more than 560 locations nationwide.
Zeel Desai-Patel spoke to the crowd on Wednesday about her journey starting work at 14 years old at a New Jersey daycare and how she feels opening the school is a full circle moment.
"To open our own Primrose School feels truly full circle and special to me," Desai-Patel stated. "And more so now as a mom I understand even more how important it is to find a place where your children are loved, nurtured, challenged, and excited to go to school every day."
The school states it gives students hands-on experiences that nurture academic skills, social-emotional development and good character.
The Glen Allen location, based at 9501 Staples Mill Road will be inside a converted former retail pharmacy and will be over 11,000 square feet. Officials say more than $9 million will be invested into the building for the conversion and the location is expected to create over 20 jobs and serve up to 160 children.
Dan Schmitt, a member of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, praised the project at Wednesday's groundbreaking, stating, "Your significant investment to open the Primrose School of Glen Allen deepens Henrico's vibrancy. It creates jobs for those seeking employment. It expands access to essential childcare for our families, and it gives our children a head start on learning."
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