A longtime child care center in Ward 7 that moved to a temporary location in 2016 will reopen Sept. 28 in a new building made possible by a $7 million fundraising campaign. The center is expected to provide much-needed child care services in the eastern part of the city, particularly as parents who are essential workers cannot work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kidspace, a therapeutic daycare and preschool for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, plans to reopen in a colorful three-story building at its former site on Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Dupont Park. The program focuses on young children impacted by trauma, such as domestic violence and housing insecurity, and is run by House of Ruth, a D.C.-based nonprofit founded in 1976.

Kidspace provides free child care to families who need financial support, and charges a sliding-scale fee for neighborhood families. In response to the pandemic, the center is taking various safety precautions, including temperature checks, social distancing, face masks for children ages 3 to 5, and small class sizes with no more than 10 people at a time. These adjustments are in accordance with local health guidance under the city’s Phase Two reopening.

Kidspace has been around since 1990 and, in 2018, was rated a high-quality early learning center by the office of D.C.’s state superintendent of education. The center supports children with personalized plans suited to their needs as well as occupational, physical, and speech therapy.

In 2016, it relocated to a temporary site in Shipley Terrace, vacating an aging building at the Pennsylvania Avenue SE location that lacked sufficient space and has since been demolished. Under COVID-19 restrictions, the temporary site has decreased its number of students from 44 to 32, with some parents preferring to homeschool their children using lesson plans curated by Kidspace.

Sandra Jackson, House of Ruth’s executive director, says the new building will mark Kidspace’s 30th anniversary with a two-week-long virtual grand opening. The building is perched on a hill from which the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol are visible — symbols she hopes will resonate with the children who attend the center.

“When they walk into this building, one of the things I want for them to know and see is that they deserve a space like this,” says Jackson. “They should not in any way be minimized because of the color of their skin, and don’t deserve less.”

The grand opening will “walk” current and prospective parents through the space and provide information about Kidspace’s services. The building includes classrooms with storage and restrooms, therapy rooms, multipurpose rooms for events like graduation ceremonies, a library, a community kitchen, a laundry room, and two playgrounds.

The new space will allow Kidspace to double its overall capacity as compared to its temporary site, with 88 slots for children. Only 80 slots will be open under the city’s current coronavirus restrictions, says Elizabeth Kiker, the development director at House of Ruth.

The speakers at the grand opening will include D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray, a representative from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, and John DeGioia, the president of Georgetown University. The university is partnering with Kidspace on work in Ward 7, with the details coming out in the coming months, says Jackson.

Like practically everything else, the plans for the building’s debut were impacted by the pandemic. The goal was to open the building in early summer, but the crisis slowed the permit process. Kidspace also had to scrap the idea of rolling out a red carpet for arriving children (parents, staff, and others would have lined the walkway to welcome students).

Brittany W., a 25-year-old Ward 7 parent whose daughter has been enrolled at Kidspace for three years, says she’s excited about the new building because it will provide a welcoming environment and more space for people to maintain social distance. (She asked that DCist not share her full name to discuss her personal struggles openly.) When COVID-19 reached the area in March, she initially withdrew her daughter from the program, and then re-enrolled her for three weeks in July. She’s currently homeschooling her daughter until the new site opens.

The center sends families weekly lesson plans that Brittany and her mom, who is also helping with childcare, teach her daughter at home. But Brittany says her daughter learns better and is more disciplined when at Kidspace.

She says she’s seen the construction of the new building progress while driving past the site on her commute home from work. “It looks like an elementary school,” says Brittany. “Just imagine all the other things coming to the community because of the new building.” Kidspace will affect how local children view the area, she adds, by reminding them that they deserve safe, well-kept facilities.

Kidspace has supported Brittany too. Last month, she completed House of Ruth’s Bridges Program, which connects parents to permanent housing and mental health counseling. Brittany says she now has stable housing, and that therapy has helped her become a better parent.

“You never know what kids are going through, what their home and environment outside of school is like,” she explains. “For children to come to school and have a comfortable space with different resources is an amazing thing.”