Our team is touring a former bank/real estate office on Staten Island to see if it can be transformed into an early childhood education (ECE) space.
The interiors are worn and outdated, with dingy carpets, fluorescent lighting, and low drop ceilings. Under the lease agreement, no changes can be made to the exterior walls, windows, and roof. Where some might see a tired old space, we see a design challenge: how to create a bright, engaging school for young learners inside a fixed shell.
We could place the classrooms on the perimeter next to the windows to increase access to daylight and add interior clerestory windows along the corridors to send the light deeper into shared areas and walkways. Our design could convert a parking area at the back of the building and transform it into a safe outdoor play area by adding a protective wall and fencing.
As we explore the possibilities, we begin to see how this outdated and uninviting structure can become a place of light, movement, and discovery.
" }We repurposed a former warehouse space for use in childcare, early childhood education, and Indigenous teaching at the Thompson Rivers University, Early Childhood Education Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia.
In some regions, the need for these kinds of buildings is growing.
The demand for ECE is rising across New York and New Jersey, even as space for new development becomes harder to find. Here, land and construction costs are high. And providers are discovering that adaptive reuse for schools can turn empty or underused buildings into engaging places for learning.
It’s also a chance to rethink how communities learn, gather, and grow. These renewed spaces bring families into the neighborhood each day. That traffic helps support nearby restaurants, grocery stores, and other local businesses.
Why are some states investing in early childhood education?
Families increasingly see early childhood education as essential. Having a place for their young children can help parents secure work, build careers, and gain more financial stability. Private preschool in this region is often expensive. Many families with young children spend up to 19 percent of their household income on childcare. Escalating childcare costs reinforce the need for rapid solutions that don’t require years for new construction.
New York State is working to provide free pre-K for all children. New York City is also planning an ambitious early childhood program, with free childcare for all children from six weeks to five years old, as well as greater access to pre-K programs. New Jersey is moving in the same direction, expanding access to free preschool and full-day kindergarten in every school district.
Like New York City, New Jersey is using a mixed approach, working with licensed childcare centers, Head Start providers, and public schools to serve more children while maintaining consistent quality. State legislation created multiyear contracts and grants to give providers more stability and support long-term facility upgrades, which includes converting existing buildings into early learning spaces.
Why should states look at adaptive reuse to close the ECE gap?
Adaptive reuse is a practical way for authorities to close ECE capacity gaps. It addresses the constraints of urban real estate: limited land, high construction costs, long project timelines, and uneven access to childcare across neighborhoods.
1. It delivers new classroom seats faster. Building a new school from the ground up in New York can take years because of site acquisition, approvals, design, and construction.
Adaptive reuse still requires permits and code compliance but usually avoids review processes that accompany large new developments. NYC’s adaptive reuse task force identified regulatory reforms aimed at reducing barriers to conversions.
Repurposing vacant storefronts, office spaces, and strip malls offers a faster alternative—particularly in dense urban environments where available land is scarce. Adaptive reuse can allow providers and city agencies to convert existing offices, retail spaces, banks, warehouses, and commercial buildings into ECE centers more quickly than acquiring land and designing and building new.
We are often asked to deliver these projects on a tight timeline. For one ECE in the borough of Queens, our team worked with our partner in an accelerated design and review process to deliver full construction documents in less than three months.
" }We designed the Phyllis Fratzke Early Childhood Learning Laboratory on an aggressive schedule for the Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
2. It makes use of vacant and underutilized buildings. New York has a growing inventory of underused commercial space. Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights have retail vacancy rates over 15 percent. The City is promoting adaptive reuse to get dormant real estate back into use.
3. It is often more cost-effective than building new. Construction and land acquisition are often more expensive than reuse. Demolition and materials for new buildings are also costly. Adaptive reuse projects in 2026 deliver an average of 40 percent cost savings compared to equivalent new construction, with the biggest savings in structural and envelope costs. The market has already noticed. Adaptive reuse project starts in the US increased 52 percent year-over-year in 2025.
4. It brings childcare closer to families. Rather than build new schools, adaptive reuse places ECEs on commercial strips closer to where people live and access transit.
Two pre‑K centers in the Corona neighborhood in Queens illustrate this effect. Located just four minutes apart beneath the elevated 7 train, they are woven directly into the rhythm of the neighborhood. Each site sits within a short walk of transit, which offers working parents a connection between school drop‑off and their commute.
These centers are embedded within a vibrant, multicultural corridor of small businesses that reflect the character of the community. A morning drop‑off can be followed by a stop at a local Colombian bakery for coffee and a pastry before heading to the train. In the afternoon, pick‑up might flow naturally into a quick trip across the street to the supermarket, folding childcare into the everyday cadence of work and home life.
5. It supports broader city goals. Access to affordable local childcare is a key factor for families choosing to stay or leave a metropolitan area. Expanding access can support workforce participation. Studies show free ECE boosts family incomes—and demand is strong. Both of those centers in Queens opened just a year apart and filled quickly.
6. It can improve neighborhoods. Would you rather live on a block with a vacant storefront or near a lively school with regular foot traffic? People bring business, too. Studies show that higher pedestrian activity around school zones increases business at nearby shops, cafés, and services.
We’ve seen firsthand how a single transformation—a vacant retail storefront reimagined as a pre‑K center—can ripple outward and bring more people to the area. What was once an empty, forgettable space becomes a daily destination filled with energy, routine, and purpose. Families return. Sidewalks grow busier. Nearby businesses can benefit from the increased activity.
7. It aligns with sustainability goals. NYC has committed to a 50 percent reduction in the construction industry’s carbon footprint by 2033 and requires lifecycle assessments for most agency projects. Adaptive reuse for ECEs should save embodied carbon and reduce waste. A recent study published by the journal Building and Environment found that reusing existing buildings in NYC can slash a project’s carbon footprint by up to 80 percent versus demolition and building new.
" }How can we design ECE for urban realities in the Northeast?
Designing early childhood centers in Northeast cities requires a neighborhood-focused approach. Many families depend on public transit, so location, safety, and easy access are essential. They must fit into dense urban areas, often on tight sites with limited street frontage and shared building systems.
Climate also plays a defining role. Harsh winters and limited outdoor access mean interior environments must work harder. They need to support year-round active play, movement, and exploration through flexible indoor play zones, daylighting strategies, and high-performance mechanical systems.
Indoor multipurpose rooms give children space to run, move, and play—and they can double as community spaces. Wider corridors can work like indoor streets, connecting classrooms while giving children more room for movement and social play. Small reading nooks and busy-board walls add places for sensory play, imagination, and quiet discovery.
What makes a good location for an urban ECE?
Site selection is key. Working alongside clients and regulatory agencies, we evaluate:
- Access to transit and walkability
- Neighborhood context and safety
- Noise levels and adjacent uses
- Environmental risks, including air quality and potential contaminants
- Availability of daylight for every classroom
Not every property is suitable, so selecting the right site is key to long-term success. Owners often invest in retrofitting, upgrading, and repurposing a building for all the reasons cited above.
What are some health and safety considerations in adaptive reuse for schools?
Most buildings that could become ECE centers were not designed for young children. They may have been offices, warehouses, or retail stores. We have designed ECE centers in former bank buildings, new commercial buildings, and many other spaces that weren’t intended for early childhood education. Turning them into safe, welcoming learning spaces takes creativity and careful technical work. Even straightforward design choices can become complex. Teams must meet code, protect children, and work within the limits of the existing building.
Childcare providers should be aware that building reuse in urban settings comes with unique complexities. Here are some common challenges and the design solutions we have used to adaptive reuse projects for early childhood education:
- Staircase updates. In some cases, we need to move stairs or add new ones to meet code. For ECEs, we take care to design stairs for the size and safety of young children. That can mean lower risers, appropriate tread depths, guardrails, and dual-height handrails that work for children and adults.
- Plumbing challenges. Early childhood classrooms need toilets and sinks sized for young children, which may require more space and new washroom layouts. In existing buildings, walls, beams, or floors may limit where new pipes can go.
- Indoor air quality and ventilation. Existing mechanical systems often need upgrades to support ECE spaces. Adding new ductwork can be difficult when ceilings are low or structural elements are in the way. Designers aim to improve air quality while protecting classroom space. One option is to place soffits around the room’s edge above storage areas, which helps keep more ceiling height over the main learning spaces.
- Natural light. We look for ways to bring natural light into these spaces. This sometimes requires inventive design solutions. At one school we designed in New York, the rearfacing, second-floor setback terrace provided the opportunity to create an outdoor play space for the children. We added a custom skylight guardrail and two skylights to this space to bring daylight to the classroom below.
In another ECE inside a former bank office, we arranged classrooms on window walls at the first and second floors. This allows large amounts of natural light to flow into the space. We designed transom glazing panels for the classroom and office corridors to allow daylight to filter through the classrooms to interior spaces.
We designed the adaptive reuse of a 40,000-square-foot former bank into a 3-K (pre-K for three-year-olds) facility for families in Staten Island, New York.
- Fire protection. These systems often need to be dedicated to the ECE center and separate from other tenants in the building, which adds steps to the approval process. In some cases, the team may also need to file separate applications with the fire department. These reviews can take time, so they should be considered early in the planning process.
- Acoustics. A dynamic urban environment can be noisy, but sonic challenges can be addressed through design. On a pre-K project in NYC, we worked closely with an acoustic engineer to design a double storefront system tuned specifically to block out the noise from nearby passing trains. The result preserves lively city views while creating a quiet interior environment in the classrooms.
- Access and security. In dense environments, we need to balance ease of access for families and occupant safety. On another reuse project in New York, we created a pre-K with classrooms in the rear of a multiuse building with a welcoming connection to the street. To enhance security, the design minimized connections between the school and the tenant areas on the floors above and provided a separate entry point for the school.
ECE design is about more than fitting classrooms into an existing building. It means looking at building systems, life safety needs, and how young children use space. Each choice must meet code, support learning, and work within the limits of the building. When these decisions are coordinated early, the result is a safe, useful, and welcoming place for young learners.
Student wellbeing is at the heart of every early childhood education space. Adaptive reuse for schools can be complex, but it also creates opportunities to design healthier learning spaces, with more natural light and fresh air, low-VOC and nontoxic materials, and clear, secure paths to and through the building.
And on a larger scale, these projects reflect a shift toward sustainability and community-centered design.
What are some design considerations for early childhood learning we apply in adaptive reuse?
We design ECE spaces for how children learn. Today’s pre-K spaces support movement, choice, and social learning. Classrooms are no longer static. They include activity centers, flexible furniture, durable materials, and safe places where children can make supervised choices.
Our design approach is shaped by real life, including our own experiences as parents of young children. We see how children in early childhood education settings move from playing individually to exploring together, showing how much the quality of space can influence behavior, confidence, and curiosity.
Early input from parents, teachers, and the community can help inform design decisions. Teachers are especially important, as they understand classroom flow and daily routines. For example, the setup of ECE classrooms may need to change many times throughout the day. The same room may support active play, learning centers, meals, story time, naps, and then active play again. We review 2D plans and 3D models with teachers to get feedback on room layouts, improve transitions, and increase flexibility.
As funding grows and policies evolve, the next generation of early childhood education hubs must be adaptable. They need to support changing teaching methods, serve children with a range of abilities and learning needs, and respond to challenges related to health and security. We approach ECE space design with long-term flexibility in mind.
" }At a pre-K center in New York, New York, we introduced glazed hallway panels to bring light into interior hallways and offices in this leased school facility.
Reimagining spaces for children to grow
Adaptive reuse for schools can help communities create more ECE spaces sooner. Instead of waiting years for new construction, communities can turn vacant, rundown buildings into vibrant, vitally needed learning spaces that enrich the community.
But design for adaptive reuse in early childhood isn’t simple. It requires a deep skill set and an awareness of the challenges that come with urban buildings and sites. Designers must clarify priorities early in design and, above all, they must have a transformative vision.
Adaptive reuse isn’t an end goal; early childhood education is. A child’s first learning experience outside the home can shape how they experience school for years to come, laying the groundwork for future success and a lasting joy in learning. These reimagined spaces hold room for unexpected discoveries, first friendships, and the kind of attentive teaching that gently guides early development.
As parents and designers in the community, we find ourselves excited and inspired about giving these buildings a second life in service to children. Adaptive reuse for early childhood education isn’t just a practical solution, it’s a hopeful one.
" }