Stork’s Nest To Move Down The Street

The Planning Board granted preliminary approval last week to plans for a new building for Stork’s Nest Child Academy, which upon completion will move from its current address of 2260 South County Trail to 3116 South County Trail.

The process to get this far took longer than owner Barbara Izzo had anticipated when she started the process three years ago. Now that construction is only weeks away from beginning, however, Izzo was feeling relieved.

“This is the day I’ve been waiting for,” she said after the Planning Board meeting Jan. 16.

The site for the new child-care center may be familiar to many in town because the house there now burned a couple years ago. Since then, it’s been used by town police and fire departments for training purposes.

Izzo said she decided to build her own space because the current space, which she rents, needs significant renovations. It was either put the money into an older building, she said, or build a new one.

The EG Stork’s Nest is one of three such facilities owned by Izzo. The other centers are in Warwick and Smithfield.

There are 137 children enrolled in the East Greenwich facility now, infants through first graders. While the new facility will be larger – 10,000 square feet compared to about 7,500 now – Izzo said it's really just a transfer from one site to another.

Planning Board members liked the design and commented the building – near the town's southern border – would provide a positive "entrance" to East Greenwich.

Construction will begin pending final plan approval in February.

The Planning Board also granted preliminary plan approval to a project called "One American Way" which calls for new construction of roughly 33,000 square feet of new office space oppposite Pole 98 on Middle Road. The project also calls for three additional industrial condominium structures to be built at the end of On Semi Way.

Public comments were favorable for both projects.